Seve Ballesteros' swiftly arranged news conference at the Italian Open on Saturday to launch yet another tirade against the way the European tour and
its finances are being run was a time bomb waiting to go off.
There is little doubt that the European tour's independent audit of three years ago, brought about by the insistence of the 'Gang of Four' -- Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal, Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer -- failed to satisfy the Spaniard.
Add to that allegations by Ballesteros that the tour has been trying to "boycott" his Seve Trophy team event between Continental Europe and Britain and Ireland, because it did not "have a piece of the cake," and it is plain to see how relations
between the parties have been smoldering.
Smoldering, that is, until the European tour's chief referee John Paramor handed out a one-shot penalty to Ballesteros for slow play on Saturday morning, which the five-time major champion refused to accept.
The time bomb then exploded. The Spaniard refused to change his birdie four at the long 16th to a five, and Paramor then disqualified him.
Ballesteros had already squared up to European tour authority in Madeira six weeks earlier when he accused another tournament referee of harassment and rudeness.
Although there have been several battles between the Spaniard and referees over the years, Paramor's insistence on handing out a penalty for a second bad time, and Ballesteros' obstinacy in refusing to accept it, lit the fuse.
It is tempting to view Ballesteros as paranoid, and that his perennial reminder of how much everybody owes him as the European tour's initial driving force is an old and worn-out tune played on an aging fiddle.
But Ballesteros was a golfing god in Europe and the debt to him for launching the game on this side of the Atlantic may never be repaid. For 30 years, he has richly entertained with his charisma and talent, and has generated millions of dollars.
Although he has certainly had his share of the cut over the years, it is perhaps understandable that he expects more than a little respect now that his struggling swing tends to keep him and his playing partners out on the course longer than most.
However, he really should not have sidetracked the Italian Open third round on a holiday weekend when baffled Italians wondered why his histrionics were overshadowing their annual national tournament.
Leaving aside his allegations about European tour dictators, mafia and wars, it should be noted that the independent audit of the European tour's books in 2000 left more people than just the so-called "Gang of Four" unsatisfied.
Many would suggest that there are a few matters that European tour executive director Ken Schofield might need to go over again.
Tournaments like the Great North Open and the English Open have already been lost this season and several other national opens have gone by the wayside in recent years through lack of finance.
Yet appearance money still gets paid on the European tour, and often far outweighs the prize money for first place.
World No. 1 Tiger Woods will be receiving at least $1.61 million for his appearance at the Deutsche Bank Open in Hamburg, Germany, next week, and he will not be the only marquee player to receive such largesse.
You cannot dictate to sponsors how and where they lay out their money, and Woods, just as Ballesteros did for more than 20 years in Europe, will always attract large crowds, ensuring that a great deal of that outlay will come back into the pot.
But could there be a better way of sharing out the money that pours into the European tour? When percentages go into the tour, could they be saved for that rainy day when a tournament for the rank-and-file players is threatened?
Ballesteros could well have opened a can of worms with his tirade in Italy at the weekend. It will be interesting to see whether the rest of the "Gang of Four" support his latest outburst and whether there will be any response from Schofield.
This week's Benson and Hedges International Open at The Belfry, where Ballesteros, Faldo, Olazabal and Langer are all playing, should answer that question.
However, we may have to wait until the Volvo PGA Championship, later this month at the tour's Wentworth HQ, for more deep-lying questions to be answered -- if the tour feels they deserve to be answered.