Robert Rock, the newly crowned king of Abu Dhabi: A profile check
Englishman Robert Rock’s surge to stardom in last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, has catapulted the Staffordshire native right into the headlines almost everywhere in the world.
Regardless of his impressive run to the top, what has been more interesting is the fact that Rock overtook the likes of legendary Tiger Woods and young trailblazer Rory McIlory to bag his second European Tour title of his career.
Formerly a bar tender at Swingers Golf Centre in Tamworth, Rock has no hesitation in admitting that he spent most of his time "selling Mars bars and watching Tiger win Majors".
The 34-year-old Englishman surged to the top of the leaderboard on the third day of the star-studded gala, pulling in an impressive six-under, 66.
Although he hoped to take it all the way till the end of the event, he was never much hopeful playing amid the giants of his era.
“I really can't believe I have done that today," Rock said. "I was just very happy to be playing with Tiger. That's a special honour in itself".
Giving into his blinding passion for the sport, Rock turned professional in the year 1998 and switched over to the European Tour in 2003 as an affiliate player.
Having not much support from the sponsors, Rock steadily kept toiling in a bid to improve his game.
His breakthrough came in the year 2009, after a painstaking wait of five years, when he landed three runner-up finishes.
He surged to top-30 on the Race to Dubai at the end of 2009, his highest position ever on the points table.
Rock pulled in his maiden title on the European Tour when he bagged the BMW Italian Open in Turin in June 2011, taking over the Gary Boyd and Thorbjørn Olesen by one stroke.
His victory demonstrated his exceptional control on his composure when he kept himself in contention, despite a jaw-dropping 62 by Olesen in the final round. His victory earned him the US Open card of the same season.
He entered the championship and landed on the Congressional Country Club just 12 hours after his arrival as he had to go through several glitches to obtain a US visa. He finished the event for a joint 23rd.
Rock’s stellar victory at Abu Dhabi last week, marks the start of a glistening season for the Englishman, where he will try to capitalise on his early gain to break into the Ryder Cup team in October this year.
He earned a winner’s cheque of € 347,024 and has now moved to €411,734 on Race to Dubai Points table.
Rock started off at Abu Dhabi, poised at number 117th on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) and walked out of the Abu Dhabi Golf Club poised at number 55th.
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