This is the moment Mail photographer Mark Pain found himself in the line of fire at the Ryder Cup – and for a brief moment brought the mighty Tiger Woods to a juddering halt. The American world No 1 was partnering Steve Stricker and attempting to chip his third shot on the final hole of yesterday morning’s fourball match against Europe’s Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher on to the green. But Woods hit the ground behind the ball and duffed the shot straight at Pain. The man from The Mail didn’t flinch, however, and captured this extraordinary picture just before the ball hit his camera, bounced on to his chest and came to rest at his feet. The Americans accepted that the ball had hit the intrepid photographer only because Tiger’s effort, from rain-soaked rough, had been so badly struck.

But it did enable Pain to pull off a much better shot than Woods had made – and nothing could stop Tiger and Stricker from completing a decisive victory over their European opponents.