An SOS to a sports injury expert kept Padraig Harrington in the United States PGA championship at Hazeltine National near Minneapolis today.
After battling with an ankle problem all week Harrington, six off the lead at halfway, had just that sorted out when he suddenly hurt his neck practising 10 minutes before the start of his third round.
The Dubliner immediately went into spasm and could hardly turn his body as he went to the first tee.
He telephoned Australian sports physiotherapist Dale Richardson, who travels the golf circuit treating players, but found he was not even at the course at the time.
However, Richardson got in his car, "broke a few traffic regulations" on the way and got to Harrington on the first fairway.
He immediately sat him down on the ground and started manipulation to try to free things up. But Harrington was clearly in serious discomfort, could hardly make a proper swing and double-bogeyed the hole to fall to two over.
Richardson applied more traction on the next two holes, which Harrington parred, and said: "It should get better as the round progresses.
"These things so often happen when there's a change in the weather conditions."
A fierce wind had followed the violent overnight storms, which halted play on Friday evening and forced another delay this morning because the second round could be completed.
Harrington was relieved to be able to continue, but he missed the green at the short fourth and bogeyed it to stand three over.
Fred Funk completed a second round 70 to make it a five-way tie at the top at halfway with fellow Americans Mark Calcavecchia, Justin Leonard and Rich Beem and South African Retief Goosen.
But the story of the morning belonged to Tiger Woods, who played arguably the greatest shot of his career so far to be only two behind along with Swede Pierre Fulke.
Playing partner Ernie Els had just one word for it as he shook the world number one's hand. "Unbelievable." And if Woods goes on to win the United States PGA for a third time in four years it is the shot he will remember most.
One of 41 players back at daybreak to finish off, Woods had to wait another 105 minutes as the flooded course was made playable.
But when he did resume his bid the Masters and US Open champion made a simply spectacular closing birdie.
Having already saved par with a delicate chip from the side of the 17th green Woods hooked into his drive into the edge of a bunker at the 457-yard 17th.
With 202 yards to go, trees in front of him, an awkward stance and a wind blowing hard left to right most players would have taken their punishment, chopped out and tried to save par with a pitch and putt.
Not Woods. He pulled out a three iron, hit it to 12 feet and for encore made the putt.
By the cheer and his fist pump you would have thought he had won, not just completed a 69 for a four under par halfway total of 140.
"A lot of luck and some pretty good timing," he said modestly.
"But that's one of the all-time great shots I've ever hit - and I've had a few.
"I absolutely flushed it. I was looking at bogey and somehow I made it into a three."
Open champion Els said his "unbelievable" after a bogey-par finish left him on one under after a 71. Els was then paired with Harrington and also double-bogeyed the first.
Woods resumed with a par four, but Funk bogeyed the first.