World number nine Henrik Stenson was yesterday disqualified from the Deutsche Bank Players' Championship after losing count of how many shots he had taken. Stenson was initially credited with a 12 on the par-five 17th at Gut Kaden, but was disqualified as he was not certain of his exact score and therefore unable to sign his scorecard.
The 31-year-old Swede, who had led the Order of Merit since February until Padraig Harrington's British Open victory on Sunday, was destined to miss the cut after a front nine of 40, although he ironically finished with a birdie three on the last.
"I ran out of putts," the Ryder Cup star said. "I missed a short one and then managed to double-hit it a couple of times in frustration. The day was pretty much over even before that. I was three or four over." Asked if he knew how many shots he had taken, Stenson added: "No, that was the problem. I didn't sign my card because I couldn't figure it out."
Stenson was not the only one to run up a high score on a day of blustery winds and occasional downpours.
Overnight leader Simon Khan followed his opening 65 with an 80 to miss the cut - the first player to do so in two years on the European Tour - while in contrast South African Rory Sabbatini bounced back from a 78 with a 65 to make the cut.
Sabbatini, the world number 16, was 155th out of 156 players on Thursday evening but carded seven birdies in a flawless round, storming home in 31 to finish one under par.
English pair Zane Scotland and Lee Slattery share the halfway lead on nine under par (135) after rounds of 68 and 69 respectively.
Best of the Irish was Damien McGrane who shot a one-under par 71 to lie five shots off the lead. Next best is Peter Lawrie who carded a 69 for a total of 141, followed by Paul McGinley another shot back after his two-under round of 70. Gary Murphy just survived the cut that fell on 144 after his 73 but Graeme McDowell failed to survive for the weekend after a round of 73.
Scotland shot to fame when he qualified for the Open at Carnoustie as a 16-year-old, but his professional career was put on hold after a car crash in 2003 in which he suffered a serious neck injury.
It was not until last year that he was able to play and practise fully after treatment at Pure Sports Medicine in London, where doctors had seen a television interview he had given and felt they could help.
"At times it was like having a knife in my neck and I couldn't play or practise how I used to," Scotland explained. "I had three stretches, of two, three and four months, where I wasn't allowed to hit a ball.
"At times I was sitting at home thinking 'this is going to be it for the rest of my days' and that's a horrible thing I don't want to go through ever again."
Scotland finished 12th in the French Open earlier this month, improving his world ranking from 764 to 437.
Slattery finished with two birdies in the last five holes to ensure he would be in the final group today with good friend Scotland. And the 26-year-old from Southport was delighted with his recovery after a bogey on the third, his 12th hole, when he was forced to drop his ball in heavy rough. "I hit my second shot on to the spectator walkway and it was so wet and muddy I needed to take a drop, but the nearest place I could drop it was in the rough," he explained.
"I then got a flyer out of the rough over the green and took six, and that rattled me a bit.
"I bogeyed the next as well but holed from 40ft on the fifth and that helped settle me down."
Argentina's Andres Romero shares third spot with England's Oliver Wilson on eight under, five days after almost pulling off a shock Open victory.
