For a few magical moments on Friday Robert Karlsson thought he could be just minutes away from becoming the first player ever to score 59 on the European Tour.
As with everybody else in that envious position so far it did not happen, but setting a new course record of 61 and equalling the lowest round of his 20-year Tour career was good enough for the Ryder Cup Swede.
Having opted for the relatively low-key Italian Open rather than golf's richest event - and that despite finishing sixth in the Players Championship last year - Karlsson leads by two from England's Mark Foster and South African Hennie Otto at halfway.
His round at Castello di Tolcinasco just south of Milan even included a drive into water on the 433-yard 13th, his fourth.
But the 38-year-old had started with three successive birdies, he then eagled the 15th and first with putts of 30 and 20 feet and when he birdied four of the next six he was 10 under for the day. That meant a birdie-eagle finish on the short eighth and 513-yard ninth would bring that 59.
A closing 10-foot birdie putt gave Karlsson a 15-under total which matches the third lowest in Tour history for 36 holes and now his sights are on a win which would lift him from eighth to sixth in the Ryder Cup race.
The money on offer may not compare to Sawgrass - £1.3million against £4.8million - but victory will bring him 24 world ranking points and that is the same as finishing fourth in Florida.
Otto, battling to regain a full Tour card, added a 66 to his opening 65, while Foster hit back from a double bogey with two birdies in his last three holes for a 66.
Nick Dougherty, just three days on from his mother's funeral, lost a ball and also took six on the par-four sixth, but he was still round in 66 for seven under.
John Daly, however, managed to follow up his 67 with only a 73 for four under and had to wait for confirmation that he had survived the cut.