The 25,000 fans packed into Wentworth might have been disappointed at missing out on watching world No.1 Rory McIlroy in the flesh, but the remaining talent on display put on a good show on moving day at the BMW PGA Championship.
Young Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, with his shoulder-length hair flowing from under his Nike cap, sent the large crowds that congregate between the green at the par-five fourth and the par-three fifth into raptures when his 198-yard seven-iron hopped, skipped and bounced into the hole for an albatross - just the third in the tournament's history.
But Miguel Angel Jimenez does not like being out of the spotlight for too long, and the eccentric Spaniard stole the show with a hole-in-one at the second to set a new record for most European Tour aces by a single player at 10 - just eight days after equalling the previous target set by Colin Montgomerie.
Both will go into the final day chasing Francesco Molinari, who kept alive his chances of a wire-to-wire victory with a four-under 68 to move to 14-under for the championship. And, for the first time this week, the Italian has company atop the leaderboard after 23-year-old South Korean Byeong Hun An rolled home a 15-foot birdie putt at the last to complete a five-under 67.
"There were a few balls flying at the start with albatrosses and other stuff you don't want to see when you're leading a tournament," Molinari said, "but I stayed calm and played well at the front.
"I had the chance to separate myself from the rest of the field but I'm happy with what I did today. That's the main thing. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the right breaks. Like today, I will try to hit the greens and make as many putts as possible, and be patient.
"But it's a course that can turn around very quickly [so] I don't want to get too ahead of myself."
On the possibility of victory, Molinari, who won the WGC-Champions in 2010, added: "To win here would be on the same level as the World Golf Championship. It's one of the tournaments that is just a little step under the majors but definitely one you want to have on your resume."
Similarly, An wasn't keen on getting sucked in on talking about victory. "I'm just going to go out and play my game," he said.
Thongchai Jaidee's 68 keeps him two back at 12-under, with the round of the day belonging to Fleetwood who, at 11-under, is well in contention for his second European Tour title, having taken the Johnnie Walker Championship in 2013.
"This ranks as high as it can get," Fleetwood said. "It's the biggest event on the European Tour and the European players' fifth major. So many great players have won it and it's one you want on your mantelpiece at the end of your career."
Jimenez's 68 took him to 10-under, with Alex Noren, also with a 68, a further shot back.
Shot of the day
Hard to take away from Jimenez's hole-in-one, but he's knocking those in for fun at the moment - so we're handing this to Fleetwood.
Wow. #Albatross http://t.co/z8J9ZEn8EO
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 23, 2015After his round and seeing Jimenez's dance, Fleetwood tweeted: "Miguel outdoing me. Need to work on my celebration!"
Speaking to reporters, he added: "That was about as good as you can play a hole of golf. Perfect drive, 198 yards to the pin. I was thinking one club less but went with a normal seven iron and it pitched six or eight feet right of the pin and span in.
"Wobbly [caddie Phil Morbey] was pretty excited because it was his choice of club, not mine."
Following his albatross, Fleetwood holed from 20 feet for eagle on the 12th, meaning he had played the first two par fives in just five shots, before two-putting the 17th for birdie and could only par the 18th, meaning he had completed the "perfect set" of albatross, eagle, birdie, par on Wentworth's four par-five holes.