Englishman Robert Rock tames the Tiger to wins in Abu Dhabi.
Coming into Sunday, Robert Rock was tied for the lead with the 14-time major winner Tiger Woods and was most pundits underdog to win. Previously Rock had only achieved one other victory compared to the 83 Tiger has collected.
Rock wobbled on the 18th when his drive landed in a pile of rocks near the water, forcing him to take a drop, but he recovered beautifully, reaching the green in four and two-putting for the win.
“I was just focusing on trying to hit fairways and then hit my iron shots as good as I have been and give myself chances at birdies,” Rock said. “Both Tiger and Peter struggled on occasions on a few holes and I managed to keep my ball in the right position and didn’t put myself under too much stress until the last, which was a relief.”
It was a storybook ending for Rock, who rose from a club pro to join the European Tour in 2003 and only got his first tour win last year at the Italian Open. The victory will elevate him into the top 60.
“It’s pretty hard to believe that I managed to win today. Very surprised,” the Englishman said. “I played good. So I guess I had a chance from early on, a couple of birdies made the day feel a little bit easier.”
“But it’s difficult playing with Tiger. You expect almost every shot to threaten to go in. It felt a lot of pressure and couldn’t afford any lapses in concentration at all.”
“It doesn’t get an awful lot harder than playing with Tiger Woods,” Rock said. “So I guess barring a major championship, I know I can handle that again. So that’s pretty nice to know.”
The 117th-ranked Rock shot 70 for an overall 275 to beat McIlroy (69) by a shot. Woods was a further shot back with Thomas Bjorn (68) and Graeme McDowell (68). The 18-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero (69) and George Coetzee (70) of South Africa were another shot back.
“Today I just didn’t give myself enough looks at it,” Woods said. “Most of my putts were lag putts. I didn’t drive the ball in as many fairways as I should have … It was a day I was just a touch off the tee and consequently I couldn’t get the ball close enough.”
Tiger started strongly and it looked as though he might pull away from Rock, after sinking a 40-footer on No. 2 for birdie and chipping to within a foot of the cup for a second birdie on the 3rd. But Rock held fast, making birdie on two of the first three holes to keep pace.
Tiger managed to save par by sinking a 12-footer and Rock just missed a birdie putt. Woods pumped his fist and appeared to be regaining momentum as he pulled within one shot of Rock on No. 13 when the Englishman had one of his three bogeys. But the 34-year-old Rock birdied two of the next three holes to regain control.
While most of the crowds and TV coverage was on Rock and Woods, a few other players were trying their best to make things harder for Rock on the back 9 on Sunday.
Rory McIlroy, playing in the group in front birdied 18 to shoot 12 under and post a score in the clubhouse and maybe give himself an outside chance. But he came up just one shot short and is no doubt thinking about the two shots penalty for brushing away sand in front of his ball in the rough of the 9th a couple of days ago
“You know, you’ve got to take the positives,” Rory said. “It was the first week of the year, and you know, it looks like it’s going to be the second year in a row here that I’ll finish second. But still a very good start to the season and something I’ll build on.”
G-Mac had the most exciting back 9 on Sunday, with a hole in one on 12, then he chipped in on 13 and to finish things off he played a shot against the grandstand on 18 which bounced back and rolled nicely toward the flag., which was rightly sunk for birdie and a tie for third.
Robert Rock – A Quick History
Robert Rock (born 6 April 1977) is an English professional golfer. He was born in Armitage, near Lichfield in Staffordshire. He joined the European Tour as an affiliate member in 2003 and has remained a member ever since.
His breakthrough season was 2009, when he managed three second place finishes, including at the Irish Open, where he tied for first place but lost to Irish amateur Shane Lowry in a three-hole playoff. He finished the 2009 season ranked in the top thirty of the Race to Dubai.
Rock won his maiden European Tour title at the BMW Italian Open in Turin in June 2011. He won by one stroke over Gary Boyd and Thorbjørn Olesen despite a final round 62 from Olesen. He made his US Open debut the following week, having qualified via a European sectional qualifying event. Because of difficulties in obtaining a visa, he only arrived in the United States at 3:30am on the Thursday morning, less than 12 hours before the start of his round. Despite this, he managed an under-par opening round of 70 and finished in equal 23rd place on 3 under.
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