Former world number one David Duval joked he had wrong-footed the media after rolling back the years with a third-round 67 at the Open Championship.
Duval took advantage of calm morning conditions at St Andrews to shoot up the leaderboard and set an early clubhouse target with a five-under-par 54-hole total of 211.
It was a score that was quickly surpassed but, briefly, the 43-year-old American was the centre of attention, evoking memories of his 2001 Open success at Lytham.
Duval, who only made the cut after making a birdie on the 18th in round two, reached the turn in four-under-par 32 without dropping a shot. He picked up three more birdies on the back nine but two bogeys prevented him really threatening the lead.
"You all didn't expect to be standing here this morning, did you?" Duval asked reporters.
"No. Well, I expected to play well at some point. I've been doing what I want to do for a long time, just not putting this together."
Duval was one of the hottest names in golf in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when he also finished runner-up twice at the Masters.
A sharp decline followed and he is now ranked 1,268 in the world. He no longer has full PGA Tour status and often relies on invites and his status as a past champion to play in top-level tournaments. He now attends most competitions in his capacity as a TV pundit only and is presently only scheduled to play once more this year.
He has an exemption to play in the Open until he is 60, courtesy of his 2001 success, and he believes with more regular action he would be able to compete once again.
He said: "The difficulty I face is not getting to play. Competing against the best golfers in the world - the Dustin Johnsons, Jordan Spieths and Rorys - is not a fair fight when I haven't played a golf tournament in three or four months and they've been playing constantly.
"But I faced a challenge yesterday and it made me feel real good to do what I did.
"And then I just went out today and hit the golf shots I wanted to do and made a few putts, and that's what happens.
"I loved winning golf tournaments, I loved doing things, I loved being in control of the golf ball - and I feel like I'm entirely in control of the golf ball."
Source: PA
