Circumstances alter moods. So it was that after a 72 which might have been considerably better, Tiger Woods changed his view about the fairness of the challenge. And in the belief that he was departing the scene, David Duval went the other way, with an attitude so conciliatory as to be hardly recognisable from 24 hours previously.

Meanwhile, players remained adamant the rough had been fertilised. But rather than accuse the R & A of mendacity, Greg Norman suggested: "To get grass to this colour of dark green, it seems God came down and put fertiliser in the rough. I've never seen grass this dark and this lush and this green, so far off the edge of the fairway."

Des Smyth, whose golfing skills were shaped on links terrain, had no doubt. "Believe me, it's been fertilised," he said. "I can tell by the colour. And Sandy Lyle is prepared to swear that he saw the greens' staff spraying fertiliser during a visit he made to Carnoustie three weeks ago."

So, what's the truth? In his role as golfing sage, five-time Open champion, Peter Thomson, claimed to have the answer. "Two months ago, the greens' superintendent used spray to eliminate weeds from the rough," he said. "In their absence, natural grasses received more nutrients than normal and thrived accordingly."

There you have it. Mind you, it didn't silence the critics. When Duval carded bogey, bogey, double-bogey, bogey on his last four holes for a 75 and a total of 12 over par, the projected cut was eight over. So he was already contemplating the fight home. A few hours later, when the wind-speed had risen dramatically, the projected cut was plus-12. Duval was in.

But he wasn't to know that when he said: "I hope I don't have to encounter these conditions again. I can't see what you can learn from them."

And what about his somewhat convoluted comments on Thursday, which were interpreted as meaning that the R & A admitted the problem had to do with a greenkeeper out of control? And that the championship wouldn't be returning to Carnoustie.

"You know they (the papers) make up what they want," he replied. "I couldn't care less what the tabloids have to say. They're going to make up what they want." But would he return to a British Open at Carnoustie? "Yes." Without reservations? "Yes." One wonders if he will be of similar mind after further torture today.

Meanwhile, tournament golfers, like politicians, should beware of note-takers. After a 74 on Thursday, which was a fine round in the circumstances, Woods said: "The person who is hitting the ball most solid (sic) will win. That is usually the best player."

No doubt he would have stuck to this view when an outward 34 yesterday left him only one over par and joint leader of the championship. He remained that way until bogeys at the 11th and 12th were only partially offset by a birdie on the long 14th. And his well-being received a further jolt from bogeys at the 16th and 18th.

"This course is going to penalise you whether you hit good or bad shots," he said afterwards. And it is worth noting that the world number one enjoyed the best of the day while compiling his two-under-par figures for the outward journey.

When Ben Hogan captured the title on his lone British Open challenge at Carnoustie in 1953, captivated Scots wondered: Will ye no come back again? And Hogan didn't.

So, could the same thing happen as a result of the current carnage? "No," Norman replied. "The British Open is too steeped in history and has too much tradition for that. I still think it is the greatest championship you could play, because we get to play under these conditions."

By way of explanation, he went on: "Right now, in the heat of the moment, we don't like it. But we will probably wake up Monday morning and say `God, we had a lot of fun over there.' Win or lose, we're playing some beautiful shots that we don't really practise at all."

As he talked, the wind increased in ferocity. And as marquee canvas flapped against metal supports, Peter Thomson said with a half-smile: "The players will tolerate anything man-made. But this is different." The fun comes later.