Robert Rock and Matteo Manassero eyeing a place at Masters via Morocco
Robert Rock and Matteo Manassero are two of the hopeful players at this week’s Trophee Hassan II in Morocco who are eyeing a place at the Masters next month.
Both European players are lurking on outskirts of the top-50 on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) who will automatically qualify for the coveted event.
Rock surged to stardom when he landed the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship earlier in the year in Middle East, where he took over a rampaging Tiger Woods in the final round.
He surged to an unprecedented 55th on the OWGR but since has dropped to 57thfollowing his lacklustre performance in the proceeding events.
Both Manassero and Rock are pitched in the same group and will be playing another for the first two days of the event. Rock needs at least a runner up finish to brighten his chances of his first Masters appearance at Augusta National.
Rock surged into contention in the event last year but fell for disappointing closing rounds to fall behind.
Meanwhile, Italian prodigy Manassero is poised at 61st on the OWGR and needs a sure win to make it through to the Masters. He posted a strong runner up finish in last week’s Open de Andalucía to throw himself in contention for the first major
event of the year.
Manassero lauded the exquisite facilities and the course at Agadir and recalled his first appearance at the venue.
He said, “When I got here for the first time I actually was a little bit intimidated to be coming into King’s Palace. When you approach the gates you realise you are coming to a special place and then the atmosphere once you are here is great”.
Young Manassero seems to be enjoying the travelling in the North African country and commended the excellent hotels and the city in general.
He added, “I have been to Rabat before but Agadir is very different. There is a lot to do and it is always great fun for us to come to Africa because it is such a different continent to what we are used to. The hospitality we have received here is amazing”.
Several top-ranked European Tour players will tee-off in a bid to land the title today including the likes of defending champion David Horsey, 2010 champion Rhys Davies and the Molinari brothers.
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