Tranquillity came to the Forest of Arden yesterday, which was to say that those contesting the British Masters could climb out of their windcheaters and give their thoughts to their scores.
Thunderous golf was consequently played but not, consistently, by those at the front and not even by the winner, Thomas Bjorn.
Bjorn prevailed in a three-way play-off against Brian Davis and David Howell. He was round in 68 but the play-off total of six under par did not improve the leaderboard of the day before, when the hurricanes were raging, by a single shot.
The tub-thumping was done at the back of the queue, by the likes of Ian Poulter, who shot 64, by Stephen Dodd, 65, and by Roger Chapman and Graeme McDowell, who both had 66s.
What would five of the principals have given for any of those scores? As it was, the drama was of the negative kind. The story, from those five contestants, was of a tournament thrown away and you had to feel for them all.
Even the play-off was decided by a mistake. Davis was eliminated at the first playing of the 18th, the extra hole, and when the others played it again, Howell sent his tee shot into a bunker, came out to 10ft and missed the putt.
But credit Bjorn. He hit this long par-three both times and he claimed that he had not felt so relaxed all week.
Relaxed was not quite the word for the opposition. Michael Campbell, leader by three shots overnight, went ten parred holes before finding a birdie.
He was seven under after 12 but a double bogey at the 13th wrecked his round and his poise. He finished with a 73. "A downer," he said. "It was there for the taking."
Steve Webster had home hopes flaming when he moved to within a shot of the lead at the 13th but a 71 wasn't really a tournamentwinning score.
But there was a big positive to emerge. Bjorn has been through hell since he threw away the Open Championship two years ago; he has even walked off courses in the middle of tournaments.
He has been saying all week, though, that the pains have left his brain and here he was winning his first European Tour event since the BMW International Open in 2002.
It was his eighth Tour victory in 217 starts and his 14th as a professional.
"We needed a completely different approach today," he said. "My plan was to keep myself in there and I did that. It's nice to get that positive feeling again. It's been quite a while and it's been hard work."
Howell has been doing a lot of work on his swing recently. "And it didn't stand up to the pressure there at the end," he said. "It's as simple as that.
"I was lucky at the 17th, having made a poor swing with my second, and I managed to chip in.
"One good swing was all I needed at the last and I just couldn't do it.
"Three to win; simple as that. One good five-iron and the title is yours." He shook his head.
"It was a struggle all day," said Davis. "My swing was all over the place and I didn't have the speed on my putter."
Davis, like all the leaders, said that it had been a case of hanging in but he was a "bit annoyed" by his experience at the tenth when he got into a bunker that hadn't been raked.
"That cost me a shot and at the end of the day it cost me the title. Things like that leave a sour taste in the mouth. But I had my chances and I just didn't get the job done."
Nothing demonstrated the dramatic change in conditions more than the round of Emanuele Canonica. The Italian was first out with a marker at 7.35 and was back in the clubhouse two-andthreequarter hours later with a 69 to his name. The day before he had shot 84.
There were three sub-70 scores in the first four matches; the tail had turned, as it were.
And to put it all in context there was Philip Golding, who came in with a 68 and was still seven over par overall. Canonica was 13 over.
Then there was Ian Poulter, he of the silly trousers and a fashion attitude better suited to Bertram & Mills than any dress conscious golf club. Poulter was eight over the par when he started his last round and level with it when he finished.
Put another way, his progress through the tournament was 75, 76, 73 . . . and 64.
Poulter was out in 32 (four birdies) and he was back in 32 (four more) which is not exactly uncommon, as a couple of numbers, but which is something pretty outlandish when you consider that he failed to birdie three of the four par-fives.
"Just goes to show what I can do when I'm in the right frame of mind," he said. When the wind isn't pounding the wilds of Warwickshire, more like.
Poulter shot 63 at the Forest two years ago. "I love the course," he said. "I always (?) play well around here and when I'm in the right frame of mind, anything is possible. It's just unfortunate that I have left this a little too late."
He did concede this, though: "The weather does make a massive difference." Poulter played with Paul McGinley and between them they produced a nice little cameo. Neither of them dropped a shot and between them they were twelve under par. Perhaps they should play together in the Ryder Cup.
All was so still with the world that Stephen Dodd birdied five of his first four holes, then another four and he handed in a 65 that took him below par for the week.
Roger Chapman had six birdies on the front nine. He didn't have any on the second nine, alas, but he didn't give anything back, either, and finished with a 66 for level par overall.
