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Johannesburg - Robert Rock completed his round ahead of the bad weather on Friday in round two of the Joburg Open, and when he was done, he was in the lead at 11-under-par.
He had a one-stroke lead in the event co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and the European Tour at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club over Branden Grace and Jbe’ Kruger, with Michiel Bothma also finished another stroke further back on nine-under.
It could change with more than half the field still to complete their rounds – first-round leader Jamie Elson was yet to even start, as were 11 other players – but Rock was in the driving seat.
He had to return to Royal’s East Course to complete his first round which had been delayed by bad weather the day before.
He did that with a flourish of consecutive birdies on 17 and 18 to match the best on that course for the opening round of seven-under-par 65 – one behind the eight-under carded by Elson and Damien McGrane on the par-71 West Course.
Getting up early is not Rock’s strong suit: “I don’t like 4.30am alarm calls,” he said. “The aim is to play your way out of those by the weekend.”
He did just that as the closing birdies from his first round gave him some good momentum, and he carded a four-under-par 67 on the West Course, which included an eagle on the second. “I didn’t play as well today, but I managed to put up a score, which was good,” he said.
Rock pulled off his first win as a professional in the BMW Italian Open last year, and he faces challenges from Kruger and Grace who are seeking their first European Tour titles. They each carded five-under-par 66 on the West Course.
Grace dropped shots on the eighth and 18th, but he carded seven birdies in a round which had him hopeful of an early success after he regained his European Tour card at Qualifying School Final Stage in Spain in December.
“I didn’t really make too many mistakes out there today,” he said. “I just missed some putts which could have made the round much better.”
Grace, who has a 2010 Sunshine Tour title to his credit, wants to take the consistency which gained him the Gary Player Trophy for the leading stroke average on the Sunshine Tour in 2011, and turn it into a big victory.
“It’s been a bit frustrating not getting the win,” he said, “but sooner or later the consistency is going to pay off.”
Kruger has been in contention in Asia for the last two seasons, and, with two Sunshine Tour victories to his name, he’s not too sure when the big one will come – and he’s not trying to force the issue.
“I don’t really feel that a win is just around the corner,” he said. “I’ve been feeling this way for the last three years, so I’m not really expecting anything. But I’m gaining a lot of experience and becoming a better golfer.”
Defending champion Charl Schwartzel battled the putting blues and struggled to a two-round total of three-under-par, which should see him make the cut – projected at three-under when play was suspended for the day.
Incomplete scores (RSA unless specified):
-11 - Robert Rock (ENG) 65 67
-10 - Jbe' Kruger 67 66, Branden Grace 67 66
-9 - Michiel Bothma 68 66, George Coetzee 65 (-3) [6]
-8 - Lyle Rowe 66 69, Scott Jamieson (SCO) 68 67, Jamie Elson (ENG) 63
-7 - Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 70 66, David Drysdale (SCO) 65 (-1) [9], Retief Goosen 66 (-2) [6], Damien McGrane (IRL) 63 (+1) [3]
-6 - Reinier Saxton (NED) 64 73, Peter Karmis 64 73, Divan van den Heever 67 70, Julien Quesne (FRA) 65 (Par) [15], Benjamin Hebert (FRA) 67 (-2) [9], Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 66 (-1) [6], Jaco Van Zyl 67 (-2) [6], Richard Finch (ENG) 66 (-1) [3], George Murray (SCO) 65 (Par) [3], Desvonde Botes 65 (+1) [3], Carlos Del Moral (ESP) 65 (Par) [3], Shaun Norris 65 (Par) [3], Marc Warren (SCO) 66 (-1) [3]
-5 - Anthony Wall (ENG) 73 65, Jordi Garcia (ESP) 66 72, Hendrik Buhrmann 72 (-5) [15], Craig Lee (SCO) 64 (+2) [15], Scott Pinckney (USA) 64 (+2) [12], Thomas Norret (DEN) 66 (Par) [12], Joel Sjoholm (SWE) 65 (+1) [9], Chris Swanepoel 68 (-1) [9], Jean Hugo 68 (-2) [6], Jake Roos 69 (-2) [6], Thomas Aiken 68 (-2) [6], Ulrich van den Berg 68 (-1) [6], Daniel Gaunt (AUS) 69 (-2) [6], Wallie Coetsee 66, Brandon Pieters 66
-4 - Steven Ferreira 74 65, Doug McGuigan 69 70, Sam Hutsby (ENG) 68 71, Lee Slattery (ENG) 72 67, Alastair Forsyth(SCO) 74 65, Keith Horne 72 67, Sam Little (ENG) 68 71, Joakim Lagergren (SWE) 70 (-2) [12], Callie Swart 67 (Par) [9], Theunis Spangenberg 69 (-1) [9], Seve Benson (ENG) 70 (-2) [3], Peter Hedblom (SWE) 66 (+1) [3], Warren Abery 66 (+1) [3], Trevor Fisher Jnr 68 (-1) [3], Bennie van der Merwe 67
-3 - Allan Versfeld 68 72, Peter Lawrie (IRL) 72 68, Charl Schwartzel 72 68, Andy Sullivan (ENG) 67 73, Richard Bland (ENG) 69 71, Merrick Bremner 69 71, Daniel Denison (ENG) 73 (-4) [15], Grant Veenstra 69 (-1) [9], Phillip Archer (ENG) 71 (-2) [9], Des Terblanche 68 (Par) [9], Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 71 (-3) [9], Markus Brier (AUT) 71 (-2) [6], Jose de Jesus Rodriguez (MEX) 70 (-1) [3], Dawie Van der Walt 70 (-1) [3], Robert Dinwiddie (ENG) 69 (Par) [3], Darren Fichardt 68 (Par) [3], Magnus A Carlsson (SWE) 70 (-1) [3], Adam Gee (ENG) 69 (Par) [3], Justin Walters 69, Dean O'Riley 68, Ryan Tipping 68
-2 - Barry Lane (ENG) 72 69, Joshua Cunliffe 72 69, Garth Mulroy 71 70, Mikael Lundberg(SWE) 69 72, Alex Haindl 69 72, James Kamte 73 (-3) [15], Justin Harding 71 (-1) [15], Anthony Snobeck (FRA) 72 (-2) [15], Oliver Bekker 72 (-2) [15], TC Charamba (ZIM) 70 (Par) [12], Simon Wakefield (ENG) 68 (+1) [12], Mark Williams 72 (-2) [12], PH McIntyre 72 (-2) [6], Danny Willett (ENG) 69 (Par) [6], Brandon Stone (AMA) 72 (-2) [6], Chris Gane (ENG) 70 (Par) [6], Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 68 (+1) [3], Pelle Edberg (SWE) 70, Matthew Nixon (ENG) 70, Andrew Parr (CAN) 70, Ricardo Santos (POR) 70
-1 - Colin Nel 70 72, Peter Gustafsson (SWE) 70 72, Steven O'Hara (SCO) 69 73, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (FRA) 68 74, Benn Barham (ENG) 73 (-2) [15], Teboho Sefatsa 68 (+2) [12], Chris Lloyd (ENG) 73 (-2) [12], Ben Mannix (ENG) 69 (+1) [12], Michael du Toit 69 (+1) [9], Raymond Russell (SCO) 70 (Par) [9], Ariel Canete (ARG) 70 (Par) [9], Alessandro Tadini (ITA) 71 (Par) [6], Lasse Jensen(DEN) 72 (-1) [6], Gregory Havret (FRA) 69 (+1) [6], Roope Kakko (FIN) 71 (Par) [3], Neil Cheetham (ENG) 72 (-1) [3], Guillaume Cambis (FRA) 70, Andrew Marshall (ENG) 70
Par - Steven Jeppesen (SWE) 75 68, Oliver Wilson (ENG) 72 71, Richard Sterne 72 71, Rich Beem (USA) 70 73, Neil Schietekat 71 72, Vaughn Groenewald 68 75, Agustin Domingo (ESP) 69 74, Alan McLean (SCO) 68 (+3) [15], Simon Thornton (IRL) 73 (-2) [12], Espen Kofstad (NOR) 76 (-4) [12], Daniel Greene 72 (Par) [9], David Dixon (ENG) 71 (Par) [9], Niclas Fasth (SWE) 71 (Par) [6], Tyrone Ferreira 72 (-1) [6], Hennie Otto 71 (Par) [6], Andrea Pavan (ITA) 70 (+1) [3], JG Claassen 71, Alvaro Velasco (ESP) 71, Ockie Strydom 72, Matthew Carvell 71, Taco Remkes (NED) 71
+1 - David Howell (ENG) 74 70, Tjaart van der Walt 73 71, James Kingston 74 70, Maarten Lafeber (NED) 72 (+1) [15], Martin Maritz 68 (+4) [15], Lloyd Kennedy (ENG) 73 (Par) [15], Jose-Filipe Lima (POR) 73 (Par) [12], Andre Cruse 70 (+2) [12], Morne Buys 74 (-1) [12], Sam Walker (ENG) 74 (-1) [12], Scott Strange (ENG) 73 (Par) [6], Knut Borsheim (NOR) 74 (-1) [3], Andrew Georgiou 73, Victor Riu (FRA) 73, David Hewan 73, Tim Sluiter (NED) 72, HP Bacher (AUT) 72, Sipho Bujela (AMA) 73, Joachim B Hansen (DEN) 73
+2 - Toto Thimba (Jnr) 70 75, Adrian Otaegui (ESP) 71 74, Matthew Southgate (ENG) 73 72, Christiaan Basson 71 74, John Parry (ENG) 72 73, Florian Praegant (AUT) 74 (Par) [15], Grant Muller 75 (-1) [15], Beyers Smith 69 (+4) [12], Lindani Ndwandwe 74 (Par) [9], Lloyd Saltman (SCO) 74 (-1) [9], Jorge Campillo (ESP) 75 (-1) [6], Matthew Baldwin (ENG) 74 (Par) [3], Titch Moore 74 (Par) [3], Musiwalo Nethunzwi (AMA) 73
+3 - Bradford Vaughan 71 75, Chris Wood (ENG) 71 75, Andrew Johnston (ENG) 68 78, Kyle Scott 73 (+2) [12], Ryan Thompson 74 (+1) [9], Jaco Ahlers 77 (-2) [3], Albert Pistorius 75 (Par) [3], Andrew Curlewis 75, Louis Moolman 74, Martin du Toit 75
+4 - Frederico Colombo (ITA) 79 (-3) [15], Bruce McDonald (ZIM) 75 (Par) [15], Robert Wiederkehr (SUI) 71 (+4) [12], Danie van Tonder 74 (+1) [9], Alan Michell 77 (-1) [6], Kenneth Ferrie (ENG) 75 (Par) [6], Bernd Ritthammer (GER) 76 (Par) [3], Jamie Moul (ENG) 76, Charles-Edouard Russo (FRA) 76, Darryn Lloyd 75, Thabang Simon 75
+5 - Omar Sandys 72 76, Johan du Buisson 71 77, Mark Murless 73 75, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 75 (+1) [9], Blanche Lamprecht 77
+6 - Morten Orum Madsen (DEN) 77 (+1) [9], Alpheus Kelapile 75 (+2) [9], Edouard Dubois (FRA) 78
+7 - Drikus van der Walt 78 72, Wil Besseling (NED) 71 (+7) [15], Aron Zemmer (ITA) 76 (+3) [12]
+8 - Louis de Jager 74 77, Steve Basson 72 (+8) [12], Prinavin Nelson 78 (+2) [9]
+9 - Coenie Stoop 73 79, Attie Schwartzel 81
+10 - Tyrone Mordt 76 77
+12 - Jonathan Raphunga (AMA) 84
RTD - Julien Guerrier (FRA), Adrien Bernadet (FRA)
He had a one-stroke lead in the event co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and the European Tour at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club over Branden Grace and Jbe’ Kruger, with Michiel Bothma also finished another stroke further back on nine-under.
It could change with more than half the field still to complete their rounds – first-round leader Jamie Elson was yet to even start, as were 11 other players – but Rock was in the driving seat.
He had to return to Royal’s East Course to complete his first round which had been delayed by bad weather the day before.
He did that with a flourish of consecutive birdies on 17 and 18 to match the best on that course for the opening round of seven-under-par 65 – one behind the eight-under carded by Elson and Damien McGrane on the par-71 West Course.
Getting up early is not Rock’s strong suit: “I don’t like 4.30am alarm calls,” he said. “The aim is to play your way out of those by the weekend.”
He did just that as the closing birdies from his first round gave him some good momentum, and he carded a four-under-par 67 on the West Course, which included an eagle on the second. “I didn’t play as well today, but I managed to put up a score, which was good,” he said.
Rock pulled off his first win as a professional in the BMW Italian Open last year, and he faces challenges from Kruger and Grace who are seeking their first European Tour titles. They each carded five-under-par 66 on the West Course.
Grace dropped shots on the eighth and 18th, but he carded seven birdies in a round which had him hopeful of an early success after he regained his European Tour card at Qualifying School Final Stage in Spain in December.
“I didn’t really make too many mistakes out there today,” he said. “I just missed some putts which could have made the round much better.”
Grace, who has a 2010 Sunshine Tour title to his credit, wants to take the consistency which gained him the Gary Player Trophy for the leading stroke average on the Sunshine Tour in 2011, and turn it into a big victory.
“It’s been a bit frustrating not getting the win,” he said, “but sooner or later the consistency is going to pay off.”
Kruger has been in contention in Asia for the last two seasons, and, with two Sunshine Tour victories to his name, he’s not too sure when the big one will come – and he’s not trying to force the issue.
“I don’t really feel that a win is just around the corner,” he said. “I’ve been feeling this way for the last three years, so I’m not really expecting anything. But I’m gaining a lot of experience and becoming a better golfer.”
Defending champion Charl Schwartzel battled the putting blues and struggled to a two-round total of three-under-par, which should see him make the cut – projected at three-under when play was suspended for the day.
Incomplete scores (RSA unless specified):
-11 - Robert Rock (ENG) 65 67
-10 - Jbe' Kruger 67 66, Branden Grace 67 66
-9 - Michiel Bothma 68 66, George Coetzee 65 (-3) [6]
-8 - Lyle Rowe 66 69, Scott Jamieson (SCO) 68 67, Jamie Elson (ENG) 63
-7 - Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 70 66, David Drysdale (SCO) 65 (-1) [9], Retief Goosen 66 (-2) [6], Damien McGrane (IRL) 63 (+1) [3]
-6 - Reinier Saxton (NED) 64 73, Peter Karmis 64 73, Divan van den Heever 67 70, Julien Quesne (FRA) 65 (Par) [15], Benjamin Hebert (FRA) 67 (-2) [9], Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 66 (-1) [6], Jaco Van Zyl 67 (-2) [6], Richard Finch (ENG) 66 (-1) [3], George Murray (SCO) 65 (Par) [3], Desvonde Botes 65 (+1) [3], Carlos Del Moral (ESP) 65 (Par) [3], Shaun Norris 65 (Par) [3], Marc Warren (SCO) 66 (-1) [3]
-5 - Anthony Wall (ENG) 73 65, Jordi Garcia (ESP) 66 72, Hendrik Buhrmann 72 (-5) [15], Craig Lee (SCO) 64 (+2) [15], Scott Pinckney (USA) 64 (+2) [12], Thomas Norret (DEN) 66 (Par) [12], Joel Sjoholm (SWE) 65 (+1) [9], Chris Swanepoel 68 (-1) [9], Jean Hugo 68 (-2) [6], Jake Roos 69 (-2) [6], Thomas Aiken 68 (-2) [6], Ulrich van den Berg 68 (-1) [6], Daniel Gaunt (AUS) 69 (-2) [6], Wallie Coetsee 66, Brandon Pieters 66
-4 - Steven Ferreira 74 65, Doug McGuigan 69 70, Sam Hutsby (ENG) 68 71, Lee Slattery (ENG) 72 67, Alastair Forsyth(SCO) 74 65, Keith Horne 72 67, Sam Little (ENG) 68 71, Joakim Lagergren (SWE) 70 (-2) [12], Callie Swart 67 (Par) [9], Theunis Spangenberg 69 (-1) [9], Seve Benson (ENG) 70 (-2) [3], Peter Hedblom (SWE) 66 (+1) [3], Warren Abery 66 (+1) [3], Trevor Fisher Jnr 68 (-1) [3], Bennie van der Merwe 67
-3 - Allan Versfeld 68 72, Peter Lawrie (IRL) 72 68, Charl Schwartzel 72 68, Andy Sullivan (ENG) 67 73, Richard Bland (ENG) 69 71, Merrick Bremner 69 71, Daniel Denison (ENG) 73 (-4) [15], Grant Veenstra 69 (-1) [9], Phillip Archer (ENG) 71 (-2) [9], Des Terblanche 68 (Par) [9], Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 71 (-3) [9], Markus Brier (AUT) 71 (-2) [6], Jose de Jesus Rodriguez (MEX) 70 (-1) [3], Dawie Van der Walt 70 (-1) [3], Robert Dinwiddie (ENG) 69 (Par) [3], Darren Fichardt 68 (Par) [3], Magnus A Carlsson (SWE) 70 (-1) [3], Adam Gee (ENG) 69 (Par) [3], Justin Walters 69, Dean O'Riley 68, Ryan Tipping 68
-2 - Barry Lane (ENG) 72 69, Joshua Cunliffe 72 69, Garth Mulroy 71 70, Mikael Lundberg(SWE) 69 72, Alex Haindl 69 72, James Kamte 73 (-3) [15], Justin Harding 71 (-1) [15], Anthony Snobeck (FRA) 72 (-2) [15], Oliver Bekker 72 (-2) [15], TC Charamba (ZIM) 70 (Par) [12], Simon Wakefield (ENG) 68 (+1) [12], Mark Williams 72 (-2) [12], PH McIntyre 72 (-2) [6], Danny Willett (ENG) 69 (Par) [6], Brandon Stone (AMA) 72 (-2) [6], Chris Gane (ENG) 70 (Par) [6], Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 68 (+1) [3], Pelle Edberg (SWE) 70, Matthew Nixon (ENG) 70, Andrew Parr (CAN) 70, Ricardo Santos (POR) 70
-1 - Colin Nel 70 72, Peter Gustafsson (SWE) 70 72, Steven O'Hara (SCO) 69 73, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (FRA) 68 74, Benn Barham (ENG) 73 (-2) [15], Teboho Sefatsa 68 (+2) [12], Chris Lloyd (ENG) 73 (-2) [12], Ben Mannix (ENG) 69 (+1) [12], Michael du Toit 69 (+1) [9], Raymond Russell (SCO) 70 (Par) [9], Ariel Canete (ARG) 70 (Par) [9], Alessandro Tadini (ITA) 71 (Par) [6], Lasse Jensen(DEN) 72 (-1) [6], Gregory Havret (FRA) 69 (+1) [6], Roope Kakko (FIN) 71 (Par) [3], Neil Cheetham (ENG) 72 (-1) [3], Guillaume Cambis (FRA) 70, Andrew Marshall (ENG) 70
Par - Steven Jeppesen (SWE) 75 68, Oliver Wilson (ENG) 72 71, Richard Sterne 72 71, Rich Beem (USA) 70 73, Neil Schietekat 71 72, Vaughn Groenewald 68 75, Agustin Domingo (ESP) 69 74, Alan McLean (SCO) 68 (+3) [15], Simon Thornton (IRL) 73 (-2) [12], Espen Kofstad (NOR) 76 (-4) [12], Daniel Greene 72 (Par) [9], David Dixon (ENG) 71 (Par) [9], Niclas Fasth (SWE) 71 (Par) [6], Tyrone Ferreira 72 (-1) [6], Hennie Otto 71 (Par) [6], Andrea Pavan (ITA) 70 (+1) [3], JG Claassen 71, Alvaro Velasco (ESP) 71, Ockie Strydom 72, Matthew Carvell 71, Taco Remkes (NED) 71
+1 - David Howell (ENG) 74 70, Tjaart van der Walt 73 71, James Kingston 74 70, Maarten Lafeber (NED) 72 (+1) [15], Martin Maritz 68 (+4) [15], Lloyd Kennedy (ENG) 73 (Par) [15], Jose-Filipe Lima (POR) 73 (Par) [12], Andre Cruse 70 (+2) [12], Morne Buys 74 (-1) [12], Sam Walker (ENG) 74 (-1) [12], Scott Strange (ENG) 73 (Par) [6], Knut Borsheim (NOR) 74 (-1) [3], Andrew Georgiou 73, Victor Riu (FRA) 73, David Hewan 73, Tim Sluiter (NED) 72, HP Bacher (AUT) 72, Sipho Bujela (AMA) 73, Joachim B Hansen (DEN) 73
+2 - Toto Thimba (Jnr) 70 75, Adrian Otaegui (ESP) 71 74, Matthew Southgate (ENG) 73 72, Christiaan Basson 71 74, John Parry (ENG) 72 73, Florian Praegant (AUT) 74 (Par) [15], Grant Muller 75 (-1) [15], Beyers Smith 69 (+4) [12], Lindani Ndwandwe 74 (Par) [9], Lloyd Saltman (SCO) 74 (-1) [9], Jorge Campillo (ESP) 75 (-1) [6], Matthew Baldwin (ENG) 74 (Par) [3], Titch Moore 74 (Par) [3], Musiwalo Nethunzwi (AMA) 73
+3 - Bradford Vaughan 71 75, Chris Wood (ENG) 71 75, Andrew Johnston (ENG) 68 78, Kyle Scott 73 (+2) [12], Ryan Thompson 74 (+1) [9], Jaco Ahlers 77 (-2) [3], Albert Pistorius 75 (Par) [3], Andrew Curlewis 75, Louis Moolman 74, Martin du Toit 75
+4 - Frederico Colombo (ITA) 79 (-3) [15], Bruce McDonald (ZIM) 75 (Par) [15], Robert Wiederkehr (SUI) 71 (+4) [12], Danie van Tonder 74 (+1) [9], Alan Michell 77 (-1) [6], Kenneth Ferrie (ENG) 75 (Par) [6], Bernd Ritthammer (GER) 76 (Par) [3], Jamie Moul (ENG) 76, Charles-Edouard Russo (FRA) 76, Darryn Lloyd 75, Thabang Simon 75
+5 - Omar Sandys 72 76, Johan du Buisson 71 77, Mark Murless 73 75, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 75 (+1) [9], Blanche Lamprecht 77
+6 - Morten Orum Madsen (DEN) 77 (+1) [9], Alpheus Kelapile 75 (+2) [9], Edouard Dubois (FRA) 78
+7 - Drikus van der Walt 78 72, Wil Besseling (NED) 71 (+7) [15], Aron Zemmer (ITA) 76 (+3) [12]
+8 - Louis de Jager 74 77, Steve Basson 72 (+8) [12], Prinavin Nelson 78 (+2) [9]
+9 - Coenie Stoop 73 79, Attie Schwartzel 81
+10 - Tyrone Mordt 76 77
+12 - Jonathan Raphunga (AMA) 84
RTD - Julien Guerrier (FRA), Adrien Bernadet (FRA)
