Els praises Shevchenko's pressure-cooker debut

Former soccer star finds going tough while trying to hit greens in Kharkov

Former European Footballer of the Year Andriy Shevchenko struggled on his professional golf debut in Ukraine but Ernie Els gave him 10 out of 10 for effort in what was always going to be a tough task.

Shevchenko, the former AC Milan and Chelsea striker who has a handicap of two and plays left-handed, plunged to a 12-over-par 84 in the opening round of the Kharkov Superior Cup in his native Ukraine on Thursday.