Pre-tournament favourite Sergio Garcia is six shots behind Choi at five over, after carelessly missing a foot-long putt on the 18th hole. Garcia beat himself about the head after his error and the man dubbed ‘El Nino’ admitted he needs freak weather conditions today to get himself back into contention. He was trying to avoid stepping on the line of another putt at the time and blamed a lack of concentration for what could be a costly miss.

“I screwed up on the 18th,” he said. “I was more worried about other things than the putt itself.

“That happens sometimes. I was looking at the line of the other ball, wondering if you should mark or not and then, suddenly, I had missed it. While I appeared calm on the outside, the things I was saying to myself were not very nice. You don’t want to give away shots like I did today.”

But Spaniard Garcia, favourite before the tournament began, added: “I didn’t rush it. That’s what happens sometimes. But it’s ok, I’m still alive.

“I feel like I still have a good chance and it’s far from over. I just have to make sure I don’t make any mistakes.”