Robert Rock conjured a magnificent 10-under-par 31-39=60 to set a fierce clubhouse target of 13-under 197 early in the third round at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, three clear of the chasing on-the-course pack when he signed his card. Update: By the end of the round he still had the lead, by one, from Rafa Cabrera Bello and Eddie Pepperell.
The Englishman made steady early progress with par breakers at the first, third and sixth, however a bogey at the fourth set him back a little. All that changed around the turn, initially with back-to-back red numbers at the ninth and tenth. When he missed out on a birdie at the par-5 12th he might have thought he’d missed the boat, but if he did he was in for a surprise. He dropped birdie putts (all of them from between six and 20 feet) at 13, 14, 15 and 16. The run appeared to have come to an end at 17, but he drained a 45’0" look at yet another birdie and walked to the par-5 18th tee needing eagle-3 for a 59. He gave himself a look, too, from 20’0" and the first cut, but the ball steered away in the last two feet. “First chance (at 59) I’ve ever had,” he said. “But 60 is my best ever score and I’ve played rubbish this year. I didn’t know my score until the 18th tee. You’ve got to let yourself play good when you can and I did that today.”