Robert

Rock

That’s three strokes back from leaders Stephen Gallacher and Rasmus Hojgaard and eight shots lower than his opening 73 which featured a double and two bogeys. The 42-year-old Englishman set the tone with a pair of birdies at 1 and 2 before riding the par train to the 9th which he also ticked. Coming home, Rock picked up further shots at 11, 12, 14 and 18. This is a welcome return to form for the two-time European Tour winner. He’s 0-for-3 this season and has missed eight cuts in his last ten starts dating back to the summer of 2019 when he finished fourth in the Irish Open. However, Rock was T7 in the inaugural Oman Open in 2018 so he’s shown a previous liking for the course.

The Englishman has made 12 starts at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, making only three top 40s and just the one top 20, but what an effort it was when he landed it. He was playing in the final round against Tiger Woods and given so little chance of winning he was asked “Do you expect to be cacking yourself?” They shared a two shot lead on the field and Woods played well, but Rock stood firm and completed the unlikely triumph. In more recent times those memories have faded and he has missed his last three weekends at the course. He was T4 in the Irish Open last July but since then he is just 2-for-7 with the exceptions T70 in the Scandinavian Invitational and T40 in the Portugal Masters.

When the Englishman finished fourth here in 2017 it was not just something of a surprise it was practically remarkable, based on his past experiences, at least. He had not just missed his first six cuts at the events, he went on to make it 2-for-10 and in those exceptions he didn’t make the top 60. 2016 gave a hint he was finally getting to grips with it, when he was T31, and last year he made it three cuts made in a row with T20. This season he has made just one top 15, but it was a good one: T4 at the Irish Open which included 60 in the third round when his putt from off the fringe on 18 briefly threatened to drop for a 59. He arrives after a run since then of MC-MC-T70-MC.

The Englishman fired 70-69-65-67 to bring to a halt a dreadful run in the event which had featured eight missed cuts and no finishes inside the top 60 in ten past attempts. After finally finding a course he likes (it was the Gothenburg track’s first time as host), Rock will seek a repeat performance. His game looked in good shape when he finished fourth at the Irish Open at the start of July but that’s the only cut he’s made in his last four tournaments. Rock, who has made the top 100 on the Race to Dubai for the last ten seasons, resides at 82nd this year.

The Englishman entered the final day with the lead and whilst he was only briefly under-par for the day he was almost always flirting with the lead. Initially he chased Rafa Cabrera Bello, but he fell back and Jon Rahm took command. Rock was still eyeing catching him even as he took aim with his second blow at the par-5 last. Alas he came up short, two bogeys (at 3 and 15) and two birdies (at 7 and 13) being enough only to end the week three swings short. However it was a good week at Lahinch GC for Rock as he grabbed one of the three available Open exemptions. “For most of this year I’ve not been able to build scores, had poor scrambling,” he said. “So to build this week is really good, despite the disappointment. With time you realize that every year can’t be the same so you get used to coping with the vagaries.”

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.”

A rough start to the season for the Englishman, with just one top 50 finish in his first six appearances. However in recent weeks he’s been on a minor upswing. He was T18 at the Indian Open and then T25 in the British Masters. He’s enjoyed the tee to green challenge at Himmerland. He ranked third for Greens in Regulation when T45 on debut in 2014, was 28th when T53 in 2015 and fourth when T10 two years ago. He makes for a fine contrast of new and old stats this season. This year he ranks 29th for SG: Putting (0.929) yet only 147th for Putting Average, 209th for One Putts and 190th for Putts per Round.

Among the many curiosities of the Englishman’s astonishing dismantling of Tiger Woods in the final round (and final group) of the 2012 tournament here (they went head-to-head, Rock won) is that neither before nor since has he come close to the win. In fact it remains his only top 25 finish in 11 tries and the last two years he has missed the cut. He averaged 28.33 putts per round six years ago but since? 30.14. He had a solid 2018 season but ultimately it threatened more than the two top tens he managed. Hasn’t made a cut in January in the last two seasons (0-for-4).

Rock needs top 60 and he’s not far away, sitting 68th on the European Tour’s points race after cashing in 15 of his 21 starts. It’s been steady rather than spectacular with just two top tens and not a single top five although a more positive spin is that he’s finished T34 or better in six of his last seven starts. That run includes T16 at Valderrama, T29 at the British Masters and T20 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in his last three. Rock has finished T52 in both editions of this event at Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort so it doesn’t jump off the page as a place where he’ll suddenly get hot even though his current form suggests he’s in good shape. The incentive of reaching Dubai again after a lengthy absence is also a consideration for managers.

In his first eight visits to the course the Englishman was solid. He made five cuts and had a best of T19. But in 2015 and 2016 he found something on the greens, ranking top six for Putts per Round and Putt Average both times and consequently ticking off T9 and T5. His numbers on the short grass were not so good last year and he missed the cut. He also lost a weekend last time out (in Crans) and it was frustrating because he made a solid start (68 for T18, a sixth round one top 20 position in eight starts) but followed it with a 74. It’s a trend: he keeps cropping up on leaderboards but is yet to reap a genuinely big check.