European Tour: Who Is Robert Rock and Who Does His Hair?

Robert Rock is the Jimmy Johnson of the European Tour. He never wears a hat and is always perfectly coiffed. I wonder if his agent’s phone is ringing today with deals from hair product companies?

Robert is starting his 12th season on the European Tour and has made 136 cuts in 229 starts. He has 24 top 10s, including two wins, and has earned €3.7 million.

If you remember the 2011 U.S. Open, Rock was one of the alternates who gained entry at the last minute and had to rush to obtain a visa to enter the United States and play at Congressional. He arrived on Wednesday and hit the first tee on Thursday, eventually finishing a respectable T-23.

He did have a T-7 in the 2010 British Open and T-38 in the 2011 British, the only other major tournaments that he has been eligible to play.   

Robert entered the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship ranked 117th in the world. With his win this week, he will jump into the top 60 and become eligible for all of the WGC events. If he can just move up a little more into the top 50, he will qualify for the Masters.  

With all of the attention given to Donald, Westwood, McIlroy, Kaymer and Tiger Woods, Rock was able to slip by all of them and capture the Falcon Trophy.

He was in the same group with Tiger on Sunday, looked him straight in the eyes and outplayed him. Tiger shot even par 72 and eventually finished T-3. Rory McIlroy, playing in the group ahead, shot a final-round 69 and finished runner-up.

It was a great win for Robert Rock and should give him even more confidence to contend as the year progresses.