A little over six months on, the player's reaction, as much as the deed itself, is what lingers in the memory. Padraig Harrington's disqualification may have cost him the tournament, but the Irishman's stock as a person rose immeasurably by his acceptance of the hand that fate dealt him.
Golf, more than most sports, gathers to itself the most basic doctrines of human behaviour. In its world, honour and honesty are the bywords. On the final day of the Benson and Hedges International at The Belfry in May, three days after the original indiscretion, when informed by the European Tour's senior referee Andy McFee that there was a problem with his first round card, Harrington took the news on the chin.
Having failed to sign his card after his first round 71, he was disqualified under Rule 6-6b. The rule states: "The competitor shall ensure that the marker has signed the card, counter-sign the card himself and return it to the committee as soon as possible. Penalty for breach of Rule 6-6b: disqualification." Everyone knew that he had indeed shot a 71, but Harrington also knew that disqualification was the only route open to the tournament directors.
"The moment I saw it, I knew what the result was going to be," recalled McFee. "I wish it had never come to light." In fact, it only came to light because of a request from the hotel to have all four cards of the winner framed for display. Harrington, five shots clear going into the last round, was apparently destined to win. However, when his cards were handed over to the hotel, it was noticed that although two signatures appeared on the first round scorecard, one of them was not Harrington's.
The scorecard mix-up occurred in the scorer's caravan when Jamie Spence, one of Harrington's playing partners on the day and also his marker, added his signature to the card. Spence then passed the card to Harrington via Michael Campbell, the third member of the three-ball. At this point, Campbell thought the card was his and duly signed it before checking all the arithmetic. Once he realised it was not his, he passed it onto Harrington who, in turn, checked and ticked the figures on the card. But when he came to sign, he saw two signatures and presumed he had already done so.
Harrington never once blamed anyone else for the error, never once sought any recriminations. "Because of my accountancy training, I'm very meticulous but, when you see two signatures, you think that's it. We sit in a row of three and pass the cards along and, when Michael saw a blank spot, he obviously signed there." The error came to light just 30 minutes before his scheduled tee-time and the mistake unquestionably cost him the £166,000 sterling winner's cheque. Once McFee approached him on the practice ground, Harrington accepted his fate and shook hands with Phil Price and eventual winner Jose Maria Olazabal.
Having taken his bad luck with such grace and sportsmanship, Harrington subsequently revealed that the stress of what happened led to him losing almost a stone in weight. So, his recent win in the Turespana Masters - his second of the season, having earlier won the Sao Paulo 500 Years Open in Brazil - was seen by many as just reward for the manner in which he accepted his fate at The Belfry.
