By Neil Silver, PA Sport

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Philip Price and Stuart Appleby came within a whisker of being disqualified for exactly the same reason as Mark Roe and Jesper Parnevik - signing the wrong scorecards.

Welshman Price and Australian Appleby - who were playing four groups behind the Englishman and Swede - had not swapped cards before their third round either, but did not notice the error until they had signed them and were about to hand them in.

However, as they had not yet left the scorer's hut - unlike Roe and Parnevik - they were given fresh cards and allowed to correct their mistake.

"We did a very similar thing to Mark and Jesper, but luckily Stuart spotted it," said Price. "We had marked and signed our own cards and almost handed them in, and so we had to change everything over.

"It's amazing that would happen. I've been on tour a long time and the amount of times I have played, I have never done that before. I am very relieved because I'd have been disqualified if Stuart hadn't spotted it."

European Ryder Cup hero Price certainly owed a debt of gratitude to Appleby for keeping him in the Open, as he is in contention on two over par going into tomorrow's final round.

Appleby explained how he spotted the near-costly mistake just in time. He said: "I was going through the usual routine of checking scores and had no problems so I signed the card.

"I was about to give the card to the official when I thought I'd just check the name on the top and I saw it wasn't mine - it was Philip Price. I told Philip and he was stunned.

"I asked the official what we should do and we were given brand new cards, and we finally got them right and both signed them. We were getting paranoid by this stage but we handed them in, and as we did that we were told that the two other players had been disqualified for the same thing.

"I think we'd have been okay even if we'd handed in the wrong cards, because we hadn't left the booth and so we could have put it right, it was just that the other two guys had left the booth."

Appleby warned that several other players on the course might be in the same predicament because the system of giving players their cards before the round differed on the European Tour to the US Tour.

"As far as I know it is standard practice on the US Tour and everywhere else I have played to be given the other guy's card before the round," said Appleby. "I remember swapping cards in the first round but I don't remember swapping at all in the second.

"I don't know what European Tour practice is, but if it is to get your own card and swap then maybe you are not the final ones you will be talking to about this."