Richie Ramsay summed it up as he peered at the leaderboard and saw Andy Sullivan’s five-under card. “A 67 is a hell of a score,” said the Scot.

It was a hell of a score on a hellish old day. At times, the dark, desperate, grisly golfing scene at Dundonald resembled Satan’s own 36-hole Invitational.

Sullivan did his best to illuminate proceedings as he hoisted himself up into the reckoning from the middle of the pack. While many were left rent asunder by the boisterous conditions, the 31-year-old harnessed the ghastly elements to fine effect and finished on a seven-under aggregate. In this type of golf, though, you’re never far away from a potential disaster and Sullivan teetered on the brink as his round drew to a close.

Up until the last three holes, the Ryder Cup player from Nuneaton was marching along at a sprightly lick. Six birdies in 14 holes had him making menacing advances up the order but all that good work was in danger of being obliterated when he spilled a shot on the 15th and then stumbled to a double-bogey on the 16th. "I was waiting for the ambulance to appear on the 18th tee because there were a lot of sirens going off in my head,” joked Sullivan.

Salvation came in the shape of a lost ball in the match ahead. That gave Sullivan time to compose himself before he clattered away with the driver. “There was a lot of anger on the tee and if it wasn’t for the delay, I don’t think I would have hit the fairway,” added the three time European Tour winner. “That gave me the time I needed to cool down and get my head back on.”

There was still incident to come. Having plunged his approach into the greenside bunker, thoughts of those emergency services may have been racing back into his mind. There was no need to push the panic button, though. Sullivan gouged his effort out of the sodden sand and watched it pitch on the green before rolling into the cup for an eagle-three.

“You often get that those little bits of fortune in links golf,” he said. “You can hit some poor shots and the contours end up taking it quite close and you hit a great shot and it goes in the bunker. You just have to stay patient. I knew if I could get out there, grind away and post a good number, I’d be going up the way.”

Sullivan had done his bit. Seven shots off the lead heading into the third round, the former Walker Cup player, who won the Scottish Open Strokeplay title at Blairgowrie during his successful stint in the amateur ranks, could now go back to the comfort of his hotel room and watch the leading groups slither back towards him. Well, not quite.

“I can’t be dealing with watching golf,” he said. “I love playing the game and I enjoy everything about it. But I’m just not a watcher of it. It's like a guy going to work and building cars for a living. You wouldn't then want to sit and watch a guy building cars would you?”

Given the appalling weather yesterday, that may have been a more appealing option than trudging about watching the golf.