Jhonattan Vegas has an agile official to thank after the Venezuelan's ball landed in a giant Royal Queensland Golf Club white fig tree and didn't come down.
The PGA Tour veteran sent his shot wide on the 14th in the opening round of the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane on Thursday.
Vegas eventually spotted his uniquely marked ball after doing some digging with a club, about two metres above ground level, before an official scaled the trunk to retrieve it for the player.
Incurring a one-shot penalty, Vegas was allowed two club lengths for a drop.
But that wasn't enough to avoid the imposing, outstretched roots of the huge tree.
Vegas, who has just returned after a long lay-off following shoulder surgery, did well to avoid the roots with his swing, scrambling his next shot towards the hole.
He eventually settled for a double bogey, finishing with two birdies and a bogey across the last four holes to card an eventful two-over 73.
Spaniard Joel Moscatel Nachshon, ranked outside the world's top 1000, set a cracking pace to equal the club record and finish eight-under.
Australia's emerging star Min Woo Lee was a shot back, John Lyras finished six-under while Lucas Herbert and Adam Scott carded five-under rounds of 66.
