PAUL MAHONEY
E-MAIL PAUL
Robert Rock. Sounds like a character in
The Flintstones. “Abu Dhabi Dooo,” as the
34-year-old English former driving range
pro no doubt shouted from the rooftop
of his hotel Sunday night. Or “Abu Dhabi
don’t bloody believe it,” as Tiger Woods
will be thinking.
It was all going so swimmingly for the
former world No. 1 as he continues his
comeback on the back nine of his career.
The 54-hole lead was his to share. Only
eight times had he lost from such a com-
manding position. He was swinging well,
hitting fairways with the driver, fizzing
irons into greens and rediscovering his
touch with the putter.
In the first three rounds, he hit 46
greens in regulation, held two-shot lead
over his biggest threat Rory McIlroy and
was out in the final group with Rock and
Sweden’s Peter Hansen. Victory was his
for the taking. And then Woods hit just two
fairways and five greens Sunday.
Rock admitted to “cacking himself” at
the thought of playing with his idol. It’s
English slang. You’ll just have to work out
what it means. Suffice to say that Woods’
opponents have mostly cacked themselves
at the very sight of that red Sunday shirt.
Not any more.
It’s one thing for Rory McIlroy and Luke
Donald to suggest that Woods no longer
holds the same fearsome aura that he
once did. But Woods was beaten by a guy
that started the week 117th in the world
with just a victory in the 2011 Italian Open
to show from 905 events.
Woods (shown in a pre-tournament photo)
used to drum the competition; now, he just drums.
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