On a day of high drama, Ian Woosnam had the misfortune to incur a two-stroke penalty for playing the first hole with 15 clubs in his bag, having inadvertently added a second driver which he had been using on the practice range. But he has no plans to sack his Irish caddie, Myles Byrne, who has been with him only since May.
"It's the ultimate sin for a caddie but he's a good lad and an excellent reader of greens," said the Welshman. "I think it's safe to say he won't make the same mistake again." Woosnam added: "It could only have happened on a course like this with a par-three start. If it had been a driving hole we'd have noticed it."
An American scribe wanted to know if there was a method for counting clubs. "Yes," replied Woosnam, straight-faced. "You start at one and you finish at 14."
For his part, a highly emotional Byrne, who hails from Bray, Co Wicklow, was prepared for the worst. "I thought we had left the extra driver on the range," he said. "And when we had problems getting past autograph hunters to the first tee, there wasn't time to count the clubs, which is something I always do."
He added: "Walking off the 18th green, I gave Woosie's glove to a young man in a wheelchair. And when I saw the way his face lit up, I realised my job wasn't all that important."
"One crowded hour of glorious life, is worth an age without a name," wrote Sir Walter Scott.
Sweden's Nicklas Fasth might have had these words as a stirring anthem when, from a share of 20th place overnight, he swept to the top of the leaderboard on eight under par for the championship with four holes to play.
Though the momentum deserted him over a notoriously bruising finishing stretch, second place on his own, for 590,000 points, has vaulted Fasth into this year's Ryder Cup team.
The Ryder Cup was also on Bernhard Langer's mind, after a closing 71 for a share of second place. "I hope this sends Sam Torrance another message after my performance in Memphis (where he was runner-up last month)," he said. "I was best European in the Masters, I was second best in this major and I was best in the fifth major, which is the TPC."
