Welshman Stuart Manley gave new meaning to the phrase "from the sublime to the ridiculous" at the World Cup of Golf on Saturday when he followed up an ace at Royal Melbourne's third hole with a septuple-bogey 11 on the next.
The 34-year-old Aberdare man, who clinched a European Tour card at qualifying school in Spain last week, soared into second place after holing his tee-shot on the 161-metre par-three, two strokes behind Danish leader Thomas Bjorn.
Having opened his round birdie-birdie-ace, Manley strutted up to the par-four fourth and after dunking his approach shot into a greenside bunker, sent his recovery shot speeding past the pin and off the back of the green.
A string of comical back-and-forth shots ensued before Manley finally landed the ball safely on the green but it took three putts from there to end the misery.
The 11 saw Manley fall from seven-under to even-par, plunging down the leaderboard to joint 16th.
Adding insult to injury, the Welshman appeared to be under the impression that he had won a Mercedes being offered as a prize for players that scored an ace on that hole when he walked to a display car near the tee and patted the vehicle.
Organisers clarified that Manley's triumph had come a day early, however, with the car only being offered as a prize for aces made during the fourth and final round on Sunday.
Midway through the third round, Bjorn held a three-stroke lead at eight-under through seven holes.
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