In political circles, G-U-B-U, as the late Charlie Haughey put it, meant something grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented. He probably didn't have golf in mind when he conjured up the acronym but, as events unfolded over the final day's play of the 136th edition of the British Open at Carnoustie yesterday, a series of unfortunate events of such proportions provided the kind of golfing drama that only rarely rears its head.
And, when the dust had settled and some players were left to nurse mental wounds that could take years to heal, Padraig Harrington - the central character in the drama - emerged with the Claret Jug. But, in typical fashion, he did it the hard way, defeating Spain's Sergio Garcia in a four-hole play-off after the pair had finished the regulation 72 holes locked on 277, seven under. Harrington shot 67, Garcia 73.
On a day that started with heavy rain, saturated fairways and flooded bunkers, with green-staff resorting to buckets to rid the traps of water, the sun fittingly broke through the grey clouds to hail golf's newest major champion, a 35-year-old who learnt his craft in the foothills of the Dublin mountains.
Yesterday's performance was a million miles removed from those days when he first picked up a club at Stackstown Golf Club.
Yesterday, Harrington, Europe's number one player, produced a performance of skill and fortitude that enabled him to overcome a six-shot deficit on Garcia and claim golf's oldest and greatest prize.
Where to begin? Garcia started out with a three-stroke lead over the American Steve Stricker; and Harrington was one of seven players who were six shots adrift. He, for one, never believed it was an insurmountable gap.
And, for sure, the heavy rains, while troublesome for the players, also had the effect of taking any fire out of the greens and the R&A took the conditions into consideration with pin placements, ensuring that holes were not put in hollows.
It contrived to produce a course that offered birdies for those who managed to stick to fairways and find the greens.
Before the leader and those in closest pursuit went out, proof that the course was there for the taking was provided by Richard Green, who leapfrogged up the leaderboard with a record-equalling 64, and past champion Ben Curtis and fellow American Hunter Mahan, who each shot 65s.
So, it was with some intent that the likes of Harrington made their way to the first tee.
Crucially, despite an early birdie on the third hole, Garcia failed to take advantage. Ernie Els threatened to make a run, only to stumble over the closing stretch of holes, probably the toughest in championship golf.
And Andres Romero gate-crashed the party with an truly unbelievable round that featured no fewer than 10 birdies. But Romero also suffered two double-bogeys, the first when his approach to the 12th green finished in a bush.
Rather than capitulating and knowing his place, the Argentinian responded with birdies at the next four holes. His putter was like a magic wand, he couldn't miss. When Romero got to nine under after 16 holes, he was level with Harrington.
Disaster struck on the 17th, where he got greedy with his second shot out of rough. Using a two-iron, he shanked the ball into the concrete wall of the Barry Burn and watched in amazement as it skittered across the 18th fairway and out of bounds.
That led to a double-bogey six, and he followed up with a bogey on the last to finish alone in third.
Romero's demise left the way clear for Harrington, who had made serious inroads into Garcia's lead. The Irishman's game plan had been to push for early birdies and, while Garcia covered the front nine in 38, which included three bogeys as his bellyputter finally let him down, Harrington covered the same stretch in 33 strokes, claiming birdies at the third, sixth and eighth holes without dropping a shot.
When Harrington birdied the 11th, the starting deficit had been erased. The chase was over, and he was playing for a different prize, one he had always dreamed of.
The 14th hole is a par five of 514 yards. Up to then, Harrington hadn't got a real break. On the 12th, his putt looked destined to fall into the tin cup only to lip out. On the 13th, another birdie putt stopped on the edge and refused to drop. So, he believed the golfing gods owed him one when his second shot to the 14th got a kindly kick out of greenside rough and he rolled in the eagle putt to get to nine under.
He was leading the Open.
On the 16th, another birdie putt, after a superb tee-shot with his favoured utility club to seven feet, again failed to drop. Was fate denying him?
Garcia's response to Harrington's move was to claim birdies on the 13th and 14th to get to nine under.
But when Garcia dropped a shot on 15, taking a conservative play off the tee and failing to reach the green in two, it meant Harrington was leading the championship on his own as he stood with driver in hand on the 18th tee.
What followed next outdid Romero's GUBU antics on the 17th.
Harrington's drive went right, towards the Barry Burn. For a moment, it seemed luck would side with him as the ball ran along the pedestrian bridge, before falling into the hazard. What happened next brought back memories of Jean Van de Velde's flirtation with the Claret Jug in 1999.
After taking a drop, Harrington's approach to the green was caught a little heavy. The ball took two bounces, and then fell into the same burn, which meanders its way up the fairway before running in front of the green. In the end, he showed his fortitude by making a fabulous up-and-down for what turned out to be a fine double-bogey six.
It meant, however, that Garcia was one stroke clear playing the 18th.
But he too faltered, with the great prize in sight. The Spaniard took a bogey, and it meant the Ryder Cup colleagues were thrown into a four-hole play-off (over holes one, 16, 17 and 18) to decide the winner.
From the time Harrington birdied the first, hitting a lovely approach in to six feet, while Garcia's ambitious approach finished in a semi-plugged lie in a greenside bunker, resulting in a bogey, the momentum was with him.
On the 16th, Garcia's tee-shot hit the flagstick, but it did him no favours, taking the spin off the ball and leaving him with a 25-foot putt for birdie, which he failed to make. Harrington, who had missed the green and finished in the swale, made a good two-putt for par. The 17th was also shared in par.
So Harrington stood on the 18th with a two-shot lead and, this time, he played the hole conservatively, almost as a par five. He used a utility club off the tee, laid up with his approach and then hit wedge to 30 feet and two-putted for a bogey that was sufficient to give him the greatest win of his career.