Peter Lonard's world was turned upside down by a bug.
In the early 1990s, the promising pro from Australia contracted Ross River Fever, a mosquito-borne virus that affected his vision. Every direction looked opposite, every break went the wrong way. For him, left looked right and right, left.
For a golfer dependent on the fine art of reading greens, Lonard's condition was disastrous.
"You do that for two years, you're absolutely psycho in the head," Lonard said Thursday, the first-round leader at the MCI Heritage with a 9-under 62, "You don't know which end of the putter to hold basically."
So Lonard gave up.
He quit competitive golf for several years, working as a club pro from 1994 to 1997. Until one day seven years ago, when an eye specialist offered hope through laser surgery. Gradually, Lonard's sight became as crisp as it was in the past. He tracked putts correctly and went back to the game he loved.
"I still have the remnants of disbelieving things I saw on the putting greens," Lonard said. "It's taken a long time to actually get over it."
Those days appeared long over at Harbour Town Golf Links as Lonard flirted with a 59 to spice up a tournament minus Masters champion Tiger Woods and the rest of the Big Four.
Lonard was two strokes ahead of Thomas Levet, who birdied six of his last eight holes to shoot a 64. Darren Clarke was at 65 with Patrick Sheehan another stroke back.
Lonard, a 37-year-old Australian in his fourth season on tour, didn't look capable of a landmark round after opening with a bogey. But he made 11 birdies over the next 15 holes to take the lead and briefly flirt with golf's magic number.
He was 10 under after a birdie on No. 16 and put his tee shot on the difficult par-3 17th 15 feet from the pin. A birdie there would have let him go for 59 with a birdie on the famous closing lighthouse hole.
When Lonard walked onto the 17th tee, "I thought I've got to birdie the last two holes basically," he said. "Up until 17, I didn't really think about it at all."
Lonard came a foot short on the tricky downhill putt to make the birdie and failed to join Al Geiberger, Chip Beck and David Duval in the group with the only 59s on the PGA Tour.
The chase over, Lonard ended with his second bogey on 18.
Still, Lonard's lowest tour round tied Davis Love III for the best opening-day score at the Heritage. He came within a stroke of David Frost's 11-year-old record of 61 at Harbour Town Golf Links.
As his birdies increased, Lonard tried to block the success out of his mind. The crowd and his own group wouldn't let him.
Lonard said the sign boy accompanying him told him as they walked to the 16th tee, "If that leaderboard is correct, Mr. Lonard, you are leading the tournament."
"Sssshhhh," Lonard answered. "I don't want to know.''
Lonard couldn't keep his play a secret for long, especially with a gallery eager to cheer for something.
Spectators rushed to fill in space along No. 17 as Lonard tried to go lower. When Lonard walked to his putt, the crowd clapped and cheered. "Let's go, Peter," one yelled and Lonard waved.
It was some welcome flash for a tournament that looked like a big snore without Woods, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson. Defending champion Stewart Cink, at No. 11 in the world, is the highest ranked player in the field.
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