What a difference a year makes – just ask Robert Rock. This time 12 months ago the Englishman was “quarantined” in his Kuala Lumpur hotel room having been forced to withdraw on the eve of the Maybank Malaysian Open after contracting chicken pox. Fast forward to today and Rock left Saujana Golf & Country Club feeling the best he ever has in his golfing life, thrilled to be leading a tournament for the first time following a brilliant round of six under par 66.
Rock’s round was his lowest score to par on The European Tour and what made the feat more remarkable was that it came on a treacherous course nicknamed The Cobra and was compiled without a single birdie at any of the four par fives holes, three of which are reachable in two for a man with his power.
His failure to capitalise on the long holes was due to a misfiring driver, but the 29 year old more than made amends with a brilliant putting display that ultimately saw him finish the first round one stroke clear of Indian prospect S.S.P. Chowrasia, who carded a 67.
A stroke further back on four under par 68 were 2006 Challenge Tour graduate Rafael Echenique of Argentina, Edward Loar of the United States and Kane Webber of Australia, while former Malaysian Open champions Alastair Forsyth of Scotland (2002) and Yeh Wei-tze of Chinese Tapie (2000) are both handily placed in the group on three under.
“My name usually comes off the leaderboard quite quickly once it gets on there so at least it will stay up overnight,” said a delighted Rock, showing a healthy sense of self effacement. “I have been working hard on my game so hopefully this is a change for the better.”
That work has been largely confined to the practice putting green and included an 11th hour session yesterday evening.
“I was in a panic with my putting last night and worked on a few things. I holed some decent putts today, which is a bit of a novelty for me.
“My caddie, Ryan McGuigan, is really good at reading the grain, which is not something I have had a lot of success with in the past. I pretty much went with what he said and they all turned out pretty nicely.
“I also had a new putter today – an Odyssey White Steel, similar to my old one but with a little more loft on it. Again Ryan suggested that a little more loft might work well on these greens and it seemed to roll okay. It was a good choice,” added Rock, reflecting on his successes from 25 feet at the 16th, 15 feet at the 12th and 12 feet at the ninth, his last.
Earlier in the day Chowrasia, an eight-time winner on the Indian Tour, had set the clubhouse lead after firing seven birdies and two bogeys in his opening round of 67, to lead by one from Echenique.
“I putted really well and played solidly. It’s a tough course. It's undulating and you don't have many flat lies around, but it's a good course and I like it," said Chowrasia. "My feel wasn't good yesterday, I don't know why. But this morning, I hit good shots and hit some good putts in practice and suddenly my feel came back.”
Meanwhile, after a fine opening round in only his third European Tour event, an exhausted Echenique was hoping to get some feeling back after a good sleep.
“It might be the start of the year and only my third event on The European Tour, but I am really tired,” said the 26 year old. “My last year (playing on the European Challenge Tour where he finished seventh on the rankings) was very, very hard. I am trying to keep my confidence and I think I am playing well.
“I need to work out in the gym as I do not feel very strong at the moment, but I’m not doing that this week because I feel very tired. My flight took 24 hours and I only arrived on Tuesday and I don’t feel very well. I need to relax in my bed and save my power for the next few days. I am used to hot weather in Argentina, but nothing like the humidity here.”
In fact, the sweltering conditions took their toll of many of the pre-tournament favourites as well. Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn complained of “having legs like jelly” after completing a battling round of one over par 73, while Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland rallied after the turn to finish with a 74.
England’s Lee Westwood, who won at this venue in 1997, was round in 75 and languishes in 85th place alongside, amongst others, World Number 29 Michael Campbell of New Zealand.
