A crestfallen Philip Walton finally had to admit defeat over his Dunhill Cup chances yesterday when he was forced to withdraw from the second round in Berlin without hitting a ball in anger.
And it would have been in anger, because the Malahide man confessed to pent-up frustration at seeing his St Andrews dream ended by a bad bout of tendinitis in his right wrist.
Walton's withdrawal left just three players fighting for two places in the Irish team in October to play with Darren Clarke: Paul McGinley, Padraig Harrington and the man who came suddenly into the running this week, John McHenry.
McHenry, though, faltered somewhat yesterday with a 75 which included two double-bogeys at the par-threes, and that dragged him down the field to one-overpar.
McGinley, the best-placed on the European rankings, is nearly home and dry after making the cut with a second 73 to be two-over.
Harrington looked to have done enough to leave McHenry far too much to do this weekend as the Stackstown man turned it on to produce arguably his best round of the year tee-to-green. His 69 to move to two-under-par left him only five off the leader, Michael Campbell.
Harrington is only three adrift of the trio of second-placed players, Spain's defending champion Ignacio Garrido, Scotland's Scott Henderson and Van Phillips from England.
Campbell, having shot 67 yesterday, began badly with two bogeys in his first five holes, but he recovered well with four birdies in his last 13.
"It's a nice feeling to start playing well again and being in front - as I was a few times three years ago," he said.
"So it's so far, so good. Now I'm just feeding off the moment and trying to be nice and calm, and we'll see what happens."
A visibly upset Walton has played in five Dunhill Cups and shared Ireland's triumph of 1990. "I'm really sick I've had to pull out," he said. "It's been my one aim for the last couple of months to get to St Andrews again in the Irish team.
"We tried everything, packing the wrist with ice and strapping, but it was no good. I just wouldn't have been able to swing properly and I'd have been waiting for the pain to come on every shot."
Harrington, at last relieved of his neck crick which has been inhibiting his swing, said: "It's nice to be there for the weekend and in such a good position. "Yesterday the Dunhill Cup kept me going and I'm very happy it did. Today I'm a little annoyed because I should have been fiveunder myself. I left a lot of shots out there through the putts not dropping."
McGinley rammed home a 12footer for birdie on the 17th to make doubly sure he would be in for the weekend and thus in the Irish team. But he, too, was a disappointed man - except that his brother Michael, caddying this week, would get another two days of the tournament.
Eamonn Darcy was happy he was in the weekend as he gave himself a 46th birthday treat by shooting a 69 to be two-over. David Higgins celebrated making the cut, too, on the mark of three-over after a 70.
There was little joy for Raymond Burns again, though. His 75 to be seven-over left him well shy of the cut. Francis Howley, improving with a 73 in his first event back since injury at the British Open qualifier, finished eight-over.
Sam Torrance, who is well back on 146 after a second round of 71, also has a Dunhill Cup incentive. He has to make up £22,000 on Gary Orr, who missed the cut, to snatch third place in the Scottish team for St Andrews.
