Larrazabal shoots 68, makes the cut after a jump in the lake to escape hornet attack

Golf is not usually regarded as an extreme sport but Spain's Pablo Larrazabal was given the scare of his life on the course in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. Larrazabal was playing the 14th hole of his second round at the Maybank Malaysian Open when he was suddenly attacked by a swarm of giant hornets.

A winner earlier this year in Abu Dhabi, Larrazabal made the cut after rounds of 74 and 68, though he admitted that his approach on the fifth hole will now be a cautious one. "It looks like I'll be playing the weekend, so tomorrow it will be very, very scary to play that hole," Larrazabal said. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but hopefully I will play it as quickly as I can."

The 30-year-old from Barcelona was forced to flee from the angry swarm and, after failing to escape his attackers, dived into a lake and took cover under water in a desperate bid to shake off the insects, which he described as 'three times the size of bees'.

But the 40-year-old's superb performance was somewhat overshadowed by the bizarre incident involving Larrazabal.

Larrazabal is 11 shots behind the Englishman and needs a miracle comeback to somehow claim glory this week. After this ordeal, that really would provide a sting in the tale.