British Open: Tiger Woods whacked a not particularly long and not particularly straight drive off the first tee at Royal St George's and into a dense patch of common bent grass, cocksfoot, Yorkshire fog and false oat-grass.

Those, at least, are the proper names for the grasses and plants that make up those areas known in the vernacular as "the bloody rough".

Woods, and at least 15 spotters and marshals, trampled around for the five minutes allowed before the player conceded that the ball was not going to be found, went back to the tee and finished with a triple-bogey seven.

The searchers had done a thorough job, leaving in their wake an area that looked like a crop circle, with the only mystery in this case being where on earth the ball had gone.

It was not solved until at least half an hour after Woods had left the area. In their spare time the spotters continued to look and eventually Terry Bennett, a 17-handicap member, found the ball - by simply stepping on it.

"I would never have found it otherwise," said Bennett, proudly displaying the ball. "It had plugged in one of the deepest areas and was totally invisible from above." There is no doubt as to its provenance. Not only was it in the area that it should have been in, it has the name "Tiger" printed on it and the simple, straight black line drawn with a marker pen that Woods uses to identify balls.

His fellow spotters suggested to Bennett that he get it autographed by Tiger himself. But Woods routinely refuses to sign golf balls, knowing that in all probability they will end up on an internet auction site rather than as the treasured possession of a genuine fan.

Bennett had another concern as well. Even a 17-handicapper would have been disappointed with a seven at the first and the finder said, wisely: "I think he may not be in the mood."