Rock

Despite having lived within a couple of miles of him for a decade, I don’t know Robert Rock. However, I’m probably more aware of his career progress than most, despite my aversion to playing the game of golf. Rock is from Armitage near Lichfield, a city with little sporting heritage, which in turn has ensured that his ups and downs on the European tour have been well documented by my former free weekly paper, the Lichfield Mercury, over the past few years. I’m sure this week’s edition will reach a crescendo of congratulation following the 34 year-old’s win in Abu Dhabi.

Much of the comment on yesterday’s result noted him as a journeyman tour pro with one previous career win. But further delving shows a guy on an upward curve, having taken six years to go from club pro at Swingers Golf Range in Lichfield to a top 30 finish in the 2009 European rankings. His first tour victory came in 2011, and he finished joint 23rd on his US Open debut the week following that win. This is a guy making steady but impressive progress. In six appearances in majors, he has missed the cut just once.

So with that build up, I anticipated yesterday’s win on the morning of the fourth round then? Err, no. Maybe I don’t have enough knowledge of Tiger’s form or mindset, but my overriding theory from watching plenty of final rounds of majors over recent years is that the worst job in the game is being Tiger’s playing partner, particularly on ‘red jumper’ final round day. I suggested to Mrs B yesterday that Rock would probably finish joint 34th. The result suggests it’s worth keeping a close eye on Rock ( Mrs B already is! ). It takes bottle to take on the pressure of having both McIlroy and Woods in close attention, and I’m sure this win will give him a confidence boost. Watch the Rock!

Opportunity for dodgy video link!