HOYLAKE, England -- Ernie Els hit a spectator in the face with his opening tee shot at the British Open on Thursday, shaking up the two-time champion for the rest of his first round at Royal Liverpool. The mans injury and Els subsequent triple-bogey 7 on the first hole were just the start of his problems. The Big Easy will have a big task trying to stick around for the weekend after carding a 7-over 79, including 42 on the front nine. Els said he was "quite rattled" after he realized the man, who he estimated was in his 60s, was bleeding profusely from a shot that Els said hit the spectator directly in the face. "There was blood everywhere," Els said. "It was like a bullet coming at him. I obviously felt pretty bad about it. It wasnt nice. I was trying to hit it left, and should have told the starters to move the people back on the left side, but I didnt do that." Els said he would make inquiries about the mans recovery. Tournament officials said the spectator was not seriously injured. On the first green, Els missed a bogey putt from about eight inches, bizarrely backhanded the subsequent foot-long putt just past the hole and tapped in for his triple bogey. "Yeah, I was kind of finished. I started to miss short putts, it was just a nightmare," he said. Els said he may have "put the jinx" on his playing partners -- defending champion Phil Mickelson shot 74, and Masters winner Bubba Watson had a 76. Watson said he felt Els was affected by the mans injury. "When we got to the green Ernie said he hit somebody right in the jaw and he said it wasnt good," Watson said. "And you could tell Ernie was shaken up by it. Youre not trying to hit a bad shot in, but when you hit somebody like that its not a good scene, and its very heart-breaking. Im not saying thats why he struggled on that hole, but Im pretty sure thats what it was." There was a bit of comic relief on the 18th where Els had to gently prod a frog away from the tee box with his driver, prompting a smile. Els won his British Open titles 10 years apart -- at Muirfield in 2002 and at Royal Lytham in 2012. He also has two U.S. Open trophies. Hes playing his 24th British Open, where he has seven top-five finishes, and has missed the cut just three times. That total could well be four after Friday. "I played the front nine in 7-over par, (on) a perfect day, and thats just unheard of," Els said. "Hopefully well get it tomorrow." Custom Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys . The Nevada Athletic Commission voted unanimously in Las Vegas to quit granting therapeutic use exemptions for fighters undergoing the so-called TRT. Justin Faulk Jersey . 42 sitting next to the bench. The 57-year-old with greying hair couldnt box out or grab a rebound, but owner Ted Leonsis waved his red towel and egged on a cheering crowd that chanted "Free Nene!" The Wizards did just fine without the suspended Brazilian forward. http://www.hockeyhurricanes.com/rod-brindamour-hockey-jersey/ . Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris, city natives, handled the catering for teammates that begged them for the tasty postgame feast. Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys . Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN.Ahead of El Clasico, we compare two of Barcelona and Real Madrids key attacking threats to see who has the edge... The eyes of the footballing world will be focused on the Nou Camp on Saturday Night, when Barcelona and Real Madrid meet in the 232nd El Clasico, live on Sky Sports 1 HD.The eyes of the footballing world will be on this game but under particular scrutiny will be the £159m of talent the two sides recruited in the summer of 2013, namely Neymar and Gareth Bale. Barca aim to level Clasico record A Barcelona win would move them 13 points clear of Real Madrid with just eight games remaining. It would also put them level with Real on 92 wins in this fixture in all competitions. If Luis Enriques side are to achieve a fourth La Liga double in eight seasons then the Brazilian is likely to play a key part in their success. Neymar has contributed directly to 31 goals this season, scoring 21 and assisting a further 10.The 24-year-old may have been eclipsed by team-mates Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez as well as Reals Cristiano Ronaldo in the goal scoring stakes, but he has proven to be La Ligas most creative player, setting up 82 chances - 18 more than any other La Liga player and 27 more than any of his Barcelona team-mates. Neymars understanding with Uruguayan Suarez has been particularly productive with both players providing a joint La Liga high five assists directly for the other.Much of his creativity stems from his dribbling skills and that is another area where he is untouchable in La Liga. Neymar has completed 115 dribbles, 17 more than next best Lionel Messi, and he has completed 40 more than any opposition player. La Liga - most completed dribbles Player Team Dribbles completed Neymar Barcelona 115 Lionel Messi Barcelona 98 Alen Halilovic Sporting Gijon 75 With four goals in his last three games, Neymar has certainly got an end product to his game, something he has been accused of lacking in the past. He has scored 14 goals in 14 home league appearances this season, a total only Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo can beat and eight of his 10 assists this season have come at the Nou Camp. Goal contributions - La Liga home games 2015/16 Player Team Goals Assists Total contributions Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 17 8 25 Luis Suarez Barcelona 17 8 25 Neymar Barcelona 14 8 22 Lionel Messi Barcelona 13 7 20 Gareth Bale Real Madrid 13 6 19 Real Madrids key player in this particular Clasico could prove to be Bale.The Welshmans goal in his last appearance against Sevilla meant that he has eclipsed Gary Lineker as the all-time top British and Irish goal scorer in Spains top division with his 43 goals coming in just 76 La Liga appearances. Gareth Bale is the all-time top British scorer in La Liga Despite having an unwanted 100 per cent record in La Liga games against Barcelona (played four, lost four), Bale has scored 11 goals in his last eight La Liga outings and has yet to taste defeat in the seven games in which he has featured during 2016. Heres a look at some of Neymars best moments in a Barcelona shirt this season His 13 La Liga goals since December 20 is one more than the entire Valencia (12) and Getafe (10) sides have managed in that time, despite those sides having played three more games. One more goal on Saturday will mean 16 league goals for the season, a personal best since moving to Madrid. Gareth Bales record at Real Madrid - La Liga 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 Mins played 1,108 2,579 1,334 Goals 15 13 15 Shooting accuracy 43% 46% 50% Assists 12 9 9 Chances created 40 49 42 Pass completion 76% 78% 80% In addition to seven goals in six La Liga appearances in 2016, Bale has also contributed four assists.dddddddddddd No Real Madrid player has been credited with more than his total of nine assists this season.Indeed, his nine assists already matches his total for the whole of last season. He has created 42 chances for team-mates this season and Karim Benzema in particular has benefitted from this - the former Tottenham player has directly assisted four of Benzemas 20 goals. Real Madrid assists this season - La Liga Player Assists Gareth Bale 9 Cristiano Ronaldo 9 Toni Kroos 8 Isco 7 James Rodriguez 6 Bale is undoubtedly a key component of Zinedine Zidanes side, who failed to win three of the seven league games the Welshman missed with a calf injury.Interestingly, the left-footed Bale has been most effective when starting on the right of Real Madrids front three and cutting in, a similar role to which Messi plays for Barcelona. Bale has proved to be a key player for Real boss Zinedine Zidane Gareth Bale La Liga record by starting position Position Appearances Goals Assists Forward right 7 8 5 Attacking midfield centre 5 2 3 Forward left 2 0 0 Centre forward 1 1 1 Attacking midfielder right 1 3 0 It has been said that Saturdays Clasico threatens to be one of the most one-sided clashes in years, with Real Madrid having won just three of their last seven away league games and having already lost 4-0 in the reverse fixture in November.However, if Bale can overshadow Neymar and Zidanes BBC triumvirate can better MSN then the Madridstas could well be celebrating just a second league win at Barcelona in the last eight years. Guillem Balague and Graham Hunter review Barcelonas 4-0 win over Real Madrid Watch Barcelona v Real Madrid, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7pm on Saturday Also See: Messi v Ronaldo WATCH: Classic El Clasicos Clasico: The key issues How Barca thrashed Real Cheap Bills JerseysAuthentic Dolphins JerseysCheap Patriots StoreCyber Monday Jets JerseysCyber Monday Texans JerseysBlack Friday Colts JerseysCheap Jaguars JerseysCheap Titans StoreBlack Friday Broncos JerseysCheap Chiefs JerseysCheap Raiders JerseysAuthentic Chargers JerseysCheap Ravens StoreBlack Friday Steelers JerseysBlack Friday Cowboys JerseysCheap Giants StoreCheap Eagles StoreBlack Friday Redskins JerseysFalcons Jerseys OnlinePanthers Jerseys OnlineAuthentic Saints JerseysCheap Buccaneers JerseysAuthentic Cardinals JerseysBlack Friday 49ers JerseysBlack Friday Seahawks JerseysCyber Monday Rams JerseysBlack Friday Bears JerseysWholesale Lions JerseysPackers Jerseys OnlineAuthentic Vikings JerseysCyber Monday Bengals JerseysCyber Monday Browns Jerseys ' ' '