Golf is a sport dominated by figures, so there was a certain irony in Stephen Browne's reluctance simply to make up the numbers during yesterday's second round at the Smurfit Kappa European Open over a Smurfit course buffeted by a stiff wind. As a former banker, he'd appreciate the analogy.
Languishing in 162nd place on the European Tour's Order of Merit, the 32-year-old Dubliner's week-to-week goals are by necessity modest. So, after shooting a one-over-par 73 in Thursday's opening round, his priority was simply to make the cut.
He accomplished this assignment in spectacular fashion, shooting five under regulation figures for a best-of-the-day 67.
The catalyst, quite apart from his prowess on the greens where he took just 25 putts compared to 30 the previous day, came in the form of a brief conversation with his caddie, scratch golfer and fellow Hermitage member Seán O'Flaherty, on the 11th fairway, his second hole.
"Walking up the 11th I said to my caddie, Seán - I had a 10-footer for birdie - and I'm not making this up now, I pointed out that I wasn't even thinking about the cut today.
"Instead, I'm thinking about getting into the tournament. The guys I was playing with were trying to do the same.
"You know Padraig (Harrington), when he has a steady first day and doesn't do anything special, he always tends to have a great second day. (That applies) to any good player for that matter. The top players don't just tend to make the cut.
"It was nice to play with two good golfers. Soren Hansen is a superb golfer. He drives the ball really well. I remember Padraig saying that the best driving he ever saw was by Soren playing in the British Open one time in Muirfield. He really does drive it well, and it was interesting just to see how he did drive it.
"He can play the right-to-left into a left-to-right wind, just holds it up every time.
"Normally, in my category, you tend to play with the same guys, so you see the same faces all year. You're out either early or late. I got a nice draw and played with two great players (Hansen and David Lynn) and it kind of spurred me on a little bit.
"Generally, the category I'm in, we often struggle at tournaments and you do think more about just making the cut."
Browne was happy with his form going into the tournament, following a late invitation, and his ball-striking in the opening round confirmed this.
"I knew I played well on Thursday and was very disappointed last night. I was quite tired going up the last. It took us forever to play the round and I made a couple of mental errors, rather than bad decisions.
"I ended up making six, horrible. I thought level par would have been an okay return.
"I just had to go out and be positive. I did a little bit of work on my putting, but I was comfortable I was going to hole a few putts at some stage and I did.
"I didn't waste too many shots, apart from 17 when I three-putted from 15 feet. Targets are kind of funny. You try to go out and play well."
There were probably a couple of telling moments in a round that contained five birdies, an eagle and two bogeys. The first came on the 18th, his ninth hole. Browne had 211 yards to clear the water, 227 yards to the pin.
"I hit an awesome shot. It pitched perfectly, went up past the hole and came back down, stone dead for a tap-in eagle; my kind of distance," he laughed.
Given Thursday's legacy of a final-hole bogey, Browne avoided repeating the feat yesterday with a wonderful up and down from a greenside trap. Falling between an eight- and seven-iron, he chose the latter, but pulled it left in trying to nurse a three-quarter shot.
He drew a terrible lie inches from the edge of the bunker that left an awkward stance, but he came out to about 10 feet before holing the slick, downhill putt.
Browne is adamant that he thrives on pressure, citing the example of his couple of wins on the Challenge Tour, and he covets a further opportunity to prove his mettle over the weekend.
"I tend to do well when I'm under pressure. I look forward to pressure and I enjoy it. Hopefully, I'll bring a bit of pressure on myself over the weekend.
"It's about trying for the stars and (if unsuccessful) hitting the moon. I'm just trying to play well again, wherever I finish up I'll be happy with, to be honest with you."
Time to crunch a few more numbers.
Today's tee times
(Irish in bold, British unless stated)
8.11: T Randhawa (Ind), T Whitehouse.
8.20: D Dixon, G Fdez-Castano (Spa).
8.29: S Thornton, A Romero (Arg).
8.38: D Griffiths, M Carballo (Arg).
8.47: P Senior (Aus), P McGinley (Ire).
8.56: D Higgins, D Park.
9.05: A Tadini, A Coltart.
9.14: P Harrington (Ire), G McDowell (Ire).
9.23: S Jeppesen (Swe), P Golding.
9.32: M Fraser (Aus), P Gustafsson (Swe).
9.41: K Ferrie, L Westwood.
9.50: C Schwartzel (Rsa), M Cayeux (Zim).
10.04: M Brier (Austria), A Cabrera Arg).
10.13: I Poulter, P Baker.
10.22: M Foster, M Eliasson (Swe).
10.31: JF Lucquin (Fra), E Romero (Arg).
10.40: G Storm, L Westerberg (Swe).
10.49: J Donaldson, S Webster.
10.58: N Colsaerts (Bel), M Kirk (Rsa).
11.07: S Dyson, F Molinari (Ita).
11.16: M Siem (Ger), M Lafeber (Ned).
11.25: T Jaidee (Thai), Little.
11.34: S Wakefield, R Karlsson (Swe).
11.43: P Archer, S Hansen (Den).
11.52: P Hanson (Swe), E Canonica (Ita).
12.06: P O'Malley (Aus), H Stenson (Swe).
12.15: R Goosen (Rsa , S Khan.
12.24: L Oosthuizen (Rsa), D McGrane (Nirl).
12.33: G Emerson, Lehman (US).
12.42: R Green, A Hansen (Den).
12.51: J Spence, N Fasth (Swe).
13.00: C Cevaer (Fra), S Browne (Ire).
13.09: JM Lara (Spa), S O'Hara.
13.18: C Montgomerie, P Casey.
13.27: S Kjeldsen, A Wall.
13.36: D Clarke (Nirl), JM Singh (Ind).
13.45: S Dodd, B Dredge.
