Rock ready to put Baltray disappointment in the past

Robert Rock fully understands he will always be remembered as the fall guy in this country when Shane Lowry pulled off his sensational victory as an amateur in the 2009 Irish Open at Baltray.

The fact he picked up the winner’s cheque for €500,000, by far the biggest of his career, didn’t fully assuage his sense of disappointment at losing the play-off.

However, he has since captured the Italian and the Abu Dhabi Championships and banked in excess of €4.5 million in career prize money and can look back on that week in Louth with considerable pride.

Rock was one of the early arrivals at Fota Island yesterday in preparation for his latest tilt at the Irish Open.

He has studiously avoided allowing the events of 2009 alter his favourable image of Ireland and has played in every Irish Open since going out on tour in 2005. And, he insists with a determined smile, one day he will hold that trophy aloft!

“I played probably my best golf that week,” he recalled. “It was the first tournament I ever played since the start of my career when I didn’t have the pressures of trying to keep my card.

“I had secured that by finishing second in Italy the previous week. Up to that point, I was sweating it out to the end of the season trying to earn the last few pennies to do it. But that particular year, I managed to do it in mid-season and it was such a relief.

“It was nice to have that kind of weight off your shoulders and play a tournament a little more carefree. I could try some of the shots I wanted to try rather being a bit too cautious. Some of the best shots I’ve ever hit came that week. I also putted really well in the first two rounds so I was in the last couple of groups going into the weekend.”

All the time, a burly, young Irish amateur was also playing the golf of his life. Not too many outside of Ireland were taking much notice of Lowry but that was all about to change in memorable and dramatic circumstances.

“I remember being paired with Shane on Saturday,” said Robert. “I didn’t know much about him at the time. A lot of people turned out to see him tee off and I thought ‘we’ll see what he’s made of here’. And he ripped the driver straight down the middle of the fairway like there was nothing to it. So I realised this fellow was all right and comfortable in the situation and we had a really good battle for two days.

“The weather was horrific but in spite of that there were a lot of people there cheering Shane on and rightly so. It was a great story. An amateur occasionally wins a European Tour event but they are few and far between. I still wanted to beat him, though.

“It was a good outcome for him and not a bad outcome for me. He beat me fair and square. Securing the money took a bit of the pressure off me because I had already got the money whereas Shane was coming away with nothing if he didn’t get the trophy and that couldn’t have been a nice thought.”

Two tie holes had been completed when Lowry finally rounded off one of the most famous days in the history of Irish golf.

“Shane kept hitting really good shots,” Rock recounted. “And then I tried to attack on the last hole, a bit aggressive with a wedge that went over the back. I had a chip shot off an up slope which I wasn’t great at and tried to hole it. Instead, I hit it 10 feet past, missed it, and Shane had two to win.”

The celebrations in the wind and rain at Baltray live vividly in the memory. Rock now states philosophically “it was probably the right outcome although I left Baltray feeling gutted that I hadn’t won.

“The Irish Open is one of my favourite tournaments and I want it on my CV. What happened is still a long-standing joke between Shane and myself ever since. He’s a good guy.”