Back Problems, putting problems and an unforgiving course became a dispiriting combination yesterday for the frontrunners in the race for Order of Merit honours. And the six original challengers were reduced to five when Ernie Els, third in the table, was forced to withdraw after only nine holes.
"I was taking a lot of inflammatories before I came over here and my specialist in the US didn't think it was a good idea to try and play," said the South African. "But I had to go and see how it felt; I had to come over here anyway." He added: "The problem is an inflamed joint, midway up my back - an old injury."
Of the remaining five, Thomas Bjorn was the only one to break par, with a remarkably steady round of 70 which contained 16 pars and two birdies. Worst of them was the perennial Order of Merit leader, Colin Montgomerie who slumped to a 75, while the current leader, Darren Clarke, was only a stroke better off.
A measure of Clarke's resolve was his composure after a very trying afternoon in which he carded only one birdie, at the 390yard 10th, which he reduced to a three-wood, wedge and an 18-inch putt. "I haven't hit the ball anywhere near as poorly as my score would suggest," he said.
He went on: "I don't feel the need to rush to the practice ground and make technical adjustments. In fact I felt that generally I hit the ball fine: 33 putts tells the story. Obviously this is a set-back but I've got to accept what's happened. My focus is still on winning the tournament: the Order of Merit can take care of itself."
Ironically, Clarke is now faced with the sort of challenge which his chief rival, Lee Westwood, responded to after an opening 76 at Montecastillo last week. On this occasion, however, the Englishman was quite dejected, due largely, one felt, to a bogey at the long 17th where a two-iron second shot met a watery grave.
"I'm not completely out of it, neither am I particularly happy about starting with a 72 too," he said. "I'm putting well and my bunker shots are good but the rest of my game is pretty awful." As he spoke, the damage he had done to his Order of Merit chances seemed to cut more deeply, leading to the bitter comment: "There's nothing for it but to go back to my hotel and try to forget about this absolute pile of rubbish." Montgomerie took time off from his club-and-ball torment to remonstrate with spectators on the back nine. That was before the fateful 17th where everything seemed rosy when he hit a sandwedge third shot safely to within 15 feet of the pin.
From there, however, he proceeded to four-putt for an ugly seven, hitting the first putt three feet past and the next four feet beyond the target. Afterwards, he spoke in the measured tones of a man fighting with every word to avert an explosion.
"I'm quite happy with the way I played," he said without conviction. "Apart from holing a putt for a birdie on the 10th, I took four on the 17th and two putts everywhere else. That's 37. Too many. Far too many."
