There have been some wild scores throughout the first two days of The Open Championship at Royal Troon - with sevens, eights, and nines all being written down by furious players alike.
On the flip side - while we are yet to see an ace - there have also been several birdies and even the odd eagle sprinkled in.
The overwhelming reason for such disparity between some of the best and worst totals out on the Scottish links on Thursday and Friday generally has to do with how well players have coped with the ultra-strong winds off the coast or avoided putting themselves in difficult situations which have been exacerbated by the thick and wiry rough.
Fairways have been tough to hit, while greens have arguably been tougher to land on in regulation. Likely to be the halfway leader, Shane Lowry found 75% of greens in regulation while T10 on that same list had not broken 64% at time of writing.
Therefore, it is incredibly impressive to see one player produce a round which epitomised consistency via 18 consecutive pars.
Amateur Champion Jacob Skov Olesen began - and finished - his second round at five-over for the Championship, a score which should just see him make the cut at Royal Troon.
The left-hander, who went out alongside 2016 Open Champion Henrik Stenson and fellow Dane Rasmus Hojgaard, was rarely in any danger during his second round - despite blustery conditions - but completed several successful recovery missions along the way.
His putting was faultless inside five feet while scrambling ranked at 50% from outside bunkers. The 25-year-old only went in two bunkers anyway, with birdie opportunities ultimately sliding by. Then there were the two near-misses from chips on the par-3 14th and 17th, respectively.
While Skov Olesen would have been a little disheartened by those misses, there were at least 1,700 people absolutely delighted to see his golf ball stay above ground on each occasion.
According to Sky Bet, the aforementioned number of people had put money on 'any player to make 18 consecutive pars during any of the four rounds' at 40/1 (+4000).
𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗! 💰Jacob Skov Olesen has just made 18 consecutive pars on his second round at #TheOpen 🏌️♂️The Amateur Champion has given 1,700 customers a winning 40/1 betslip on any player to do it! 🙌July 19, 2024
Skov Olesen's achievement echoed that of Sir Nick Faldo's brilliant final round at Muirfield in 1987 on his way to lifting the Claret Jug following victory over Paul Azinger and co. Coincidentally, Faldo's 18-par day also arrived on July 19.
As a 33-1 outsider at the time following a swing redevelopment, Faldo defied his lack of believers and stormy weather to knit together the tidiest of rounds and claim the first of his six Major Championships.
While Skov Olesen is unlikely to win this Open Championship, he may well go on to claim one in the future if he can repeat today's showing on a misty Sunday at a British links golf course.
