Thomas Bjørn had thought Friday's second round represented the end of an era as he made his way down the back nine before late fireworks saw him through to the weekend at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters.
Having played a full schedule throughout his long and storied DP World Tour career, the 52-year-old's current exemption ends this season and this is set to be his last event on the exemption.
And the 15-time winner looked on course to miss the cut after starting the week with a 76 but he reeled off a hat-trick of long-range birdies at the 16th, 17th and 18th late on day two to sign for a 67, reach one under par and extend his tournament.
His playing partner Alex Fitzpatrick likened Bjørn's putting to his Major-winning brother Matt's, and the Dane - who has vowed to continue to play on the Tour "here and there" - was pleased with the comparison.
He said: "Alex Fitzpatrick kept saying ‘you’re putting like my brother’ so that must be a good thing!
"I rolled in some long putts on that back nine.
"I had a pretty bad bogey on the 15th and I thought that was pretty much it but managed to birdie the last three to sneak into the weekend. It’s always nice.
"I’m running out of exemption at the end of the year and this was going to be my last event on the exemption.
"I'm still going to play some events here and there but this was going to be my last event on the exemption.
"The only thing I was thinking about those last few holes was 28 seasons with a card out here and it was coming to an end. I had to give it a go and see if I could put a nice round together for that.
"It becomes real for you when you’ve been out here for that long and you’re coming to the end of it. I still enjoy being out here, I played with two guys (Dan Bradbury and Fitzpatrick) these last two days who are combined younger than I am and that tells a big story.
"I enjoy being out here, I enjoy being with these young guys but everything comes to an end. As much as I will still play a few events here and there, I certainly won’t play a full schedule going forward. They’re just simply too good.
"They are the moments you play for. I’ve played over 600 events in my career on this Tour and won 15 times, so that’s a lot of disappointment.
"You play for those moments when the game gives you those little things back and puts a smile on your face.
"There are enough times where you walk away from the day, being hard on yourself and a bit down and over those years, there’s been a lot of that. I take it with a big smile today and look forward to the weekend."
