Right smack in the middle of Sunday lunch hour, the insufferable humidity was putting its chokehold around Pinehurst No 2 when a glance at the tee sheet showed that we were still three hours away from the assigned starting time of the US Open leader, Martin Kaymer.

Chasing historic feats makes up a huge chunk of his iconic golf persona. Meeting with law enforcement officials as part of a criminal investigation is a sliver of his curious enigma.