Darren Clarke had no need to worry about 40-year-old American Gene Sauers as he prepared to defend his one-stroke overnight lead in the NEC world championship in Akron today.
Seven hours before Clarke teed off again at nine under par, Sauers guaranteed some headlines of his own with a start to his final round that would have embarrassed a weekend hacker.
A quadruple bogey eight on the 399-yard first was followed by a sextuple bogey 10 at the 442-yard third, then a double bogey five at the short fifth and a bogey on the 469-yard sixth.
Already in last place overnight Sauers, three times a winner on the US Tour, crashed from 16 over par to 29 over. There was no hint of what was to come when he hit a 282-yard drive on the opening hole - and hit it pretty straight too.
But the Georgia golfer went long with his second, chipped off the green and after chipping back on to 35 feet putted off it. His sixth shot finished 18 feet from the flag and he two-putted from there.
On the third he hit his approach into the water fronting the green and then, after taking a penalty drop and leaving himself a 75-yard pitch he put two more balls in the drink. Wondering what on earth might happen next, Sauers was just off the green at the 200-yard fifth, a mere 15 feet from the hole, but chipped five feet past, missed that and then failed with the four-footer coming back.
Three more putts came on the sixth as he fell 38 strokes behind Clarke. But that did at least become 37 when he made a five-foot birdie putt on the eighth.
Clarke, who remains Europe's only winner of a World Championship event three years on from his match play triumph in California, was one ahead of Jonathan Kaye and two in front of another American, Chris Riley. Both Tiger Woods, whom the Northern Irishman beat in the 2000 final at La Costa, and Davis Love were three back.