Jean-Francois Remesy, who would later become the first Frenchman for 35 years to win the French Open, hit his first tee shot into a lake yesterday. A spectator, full of hope at the outset, immediately shrugged his shoulders, as the French do so expressively, and said: "Ca commence" - it's started.
Many French golfers have promised in recent years to do what Jean Garaialde did in 1969 and win this, the oldest of continental professional championships. But because none has held on for final victory, even Remesy, with his three-shot overnight lead, was not regarded as a certainty.
But no one need have worried.
Remesy, having got wet at the first, also got soaked through at the last where, after he had holed the winning putt, he was first drenched in champagne and then thrown into the greenside lake by a group of excited friends.
After that opening double bogey, he played the remainder of the course in two-under-par to leave two Australian left-handers, Richard Green and Nick O'Hern, seven behind at the end. Remesy's total of 272, 12 under par, won him €500,000, and moved him from 24th to seventh in the race for a Ryder Cup place.
Graeme McDowell, winner of the Italian Open in May and runner-up in the Diageo, finished with a new course record of 64 and moved up from 30th to fourth. It also earned him a $3,500 Rolex watch for the low round of the weekend.
The 24-year-old, a member of the winning Walker Cup team in America only three years ago, is now 13th in the Ryder Cup standings.
"I said to my dad last night I couldn't get it going on this course," he said. "Any time I hit it in the thick stuff I was in big trouble, but this time I was only in it once and got on a roll.
"The Ryder Cup was never a goal for this year and I still need to play some good golf between now and then.
"My goal was to win in six months and finish top 30 in Europe. I've moved the goalposts now to top 15 and win again.
"I'm a goal-orientated kind of person and I react well to those kind of things. I'm hitting all of them on the nose."
Colin Montgomerie had little to celebrate. He was round in 72 on his 14th wedding anniversary but he is, of course, in the throes of a divorce. Though a 72, containing seven birdies, was creditable on this National course, he also had a nine at the ninth.
Today the focus changes to Sunningdale and the 36-hole international final qualifier for the British Open at Royal Troon in three weeks, in which Montgomerie and 119 others are having to play.
The Scot will be playing with a Ryder Cup colleague, Pierre Fulke. Paul McGinley, partners Peter Baker; Jose Maria Olazabal is alongside Mark James; and Justin Rose plays with Angel Cabrera.
