The only person that came close to stopping Sergio Garcia's first-round charge at Loch Lomond was mother nature. The problem was the little distraction of a bird's egg at a greenside bunker by the 18th hole.

It was one of three laid in the bunker by the oyster-catcher, a common, colourful species familiar to the area around the famous Scottish lake. It was still there as golfers in the Loch Lomond event played their final practice rounds on Tuesday although none of the players struck it.

Three yellow marker flags were placed around the egg to avoid it being trampled on. Two of the eggs did hatch and though one chick died the other was still at large on the course. The remaining egg was finally removed by officials on Wednesday morning after local ornithological experts declared that it was addled and would not hatch. It was then deemed a movable obstruction.

The mother, luckily, had not attended the third egg for several days. She was last seen sitting beside the 18th fairway - probably seeking a more suitable site for her next attempt at motherhood.