Padraig Harrington went from dozing at the dinner table on the eve of the Horizon Irish Open to shooting under par in his opening round.
Four days after his jubilant US Senior Open triumph, Harrington was roared onto every green he hit at Mount Juliet as the home crowds flocked to celebrate his success.
The 50-year-old predicted he would need the crowd to energise him and so it proved as he started fast, making the turn with two birdies banked.
READ MORE: How much money did Padraig Harrington win? The prize money for the US Senior Open
Understandably, Harrington didn't pick up a club between Sunday night in Pennsylvania and playing in the Pro-Am in Kilkenny on Wednesday, having only touched down in Dublin Airport with his newest prize in tow on Tuesday morning.
And he stumbled as the finish line got closer, missing a birdie chance on the par-5 17th, an attempt sandwiched between bogeys on 16 and 18.
“Well, it’s an Irish Open, you're going to get up for it, you do things a little bit different," smiled the 2007 winner afterwards.
"Including, I think I slept for half-an-hour at the dinner table last night! I actually fell asleep.
"I couldn’t even look at my phone, that’s how bad I was. But you take your sleep when you get it.
"I haven’t hit a practice shot this week - I have warmed up twice, that’s it.
"I saw a putting green for the first time today, I haven’t seen a practice bunker either. But I just have to put up with that this week."
The dropped shot on the last will frustrate him in particular.
Harrington drove the ball into the rough and a child picked it up, then dropped it and the Dubliner sought clarification from officials on whether he should take a drop or place it.
As no-one was sure where the ball landed, he placed it but steered his approach into a greenside bunker and failed to get up and down.
At two-under par, he is six behind the leader Ryan Fox, who fired an impressive bogey-free 64, and has plenty of ground to make up on those ahead of him.
"I'm hoping, and it really is a hope at this stage," admitted Harrington.
"Sometimes you know what's coming around the corner and you think, 'well, 70 is grand, I know I'm going to be better tomorrow'.
"But I really don't know how I'm going to feel, so early start tomorrow, we'll just have to wait and see.
"But at this stage, 70 is fine but I do need to go forward tomorrow.
"It looks like it will be a high teens, 20-under par winning week so 70 isn't great but there's still time to get to 20-under par."
It is Seamus Power and Niall Kearney who lead the home challenge heading into the second round, four shots behind New Zealand's Fox.
Starting at the 10th hole in the morning's marquee group with Ryder Cup stars Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton, Waterford's Power excited the home fans by moving to four under-par with a birdie on the second green, and after 10 holes of his round.
As he put it himself afterwards, the 35-year-old "bizarrely" bogeyed the two par 5s on his way in - the fifth and eighth holes - but responded with a superb birdie from off the green on the last to card a 68.
Dubliner Kearney is also well in touch after also shooting four under par for his round.
The 34-year-old actually reached the turn in 31 - five under-par - only to give a shot back at that eighth hole, his second last of the day.
Lowry had a tougher time of it, bogeying his third hole but reaching the turn at level par with a birdie on the par-5 17th.
In front of a large gallery, he got things going down the stretch, picking up two birdies on the spin only to drop his second shot of the morning on that par-5 seventh.
But he had a smile on his face coming off the green having found himself in big trouble off the tee and up against a tree for his second shot.
The Clara man had to take a drop and did well to scramble to ensure he avoided a double bogey, but he is still in the hunt.
Fox, who has twice come close to winning the Irish Open in the past, played near-flawless golf in the soft, calm conditions.
Steering clear of birdies, the Kiwi made eight birdies and holds a one-shot lead over Frenchman Frederic Lacroix, Jorge Campillo of Spain and German Marcel Schneider.
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