Seville Open good to Robert Rock

By Robert Rock,
Special for WorldGolf.com

Well, I achieved one of my aims at the Seville Open.

If you are a regular reader of this column - and thank you if you are - you will recall I said last week I needed to start scoring in the 60s again if I was to start making some serious money.

And I did exactly that on the second and third days in Seville. I posted a 3-under par 69 on each of the two days to get back in the frame after an opening day 3-over 75.

At that stage I was tied for 36th - eight shots behind leader Ricardo Gonzalez.

I knew then if I posted a similar score I could be up in the top 20.

I was really pleased to be in that position. On the first day the weather had been really difficult and on top of that I didn't play particularly well. I was at the wrong end of the draw to post a really low total.

The guys who were leading were in the clubhouse with 4-, 5- and 6-unders before I had even teed off - and the weather was deteriorating quickly.

At 3-over at the start of the second day I was already 10 shots off the lead, so I knew I had to play well just to make the cut.

And I got off to the worst possible start by double-bogeying the 10th - my first hole of the day. So at 5 under, and with the cut looking likely to be around level par I knew I had to play really well just to get back into it.

So I was delighted with my 69 which included five birdies and an eagle.

My iron play and my driving were going well and I was pleased with my putting.

But on the final day, it was difficult again and I recorded another 3-over par round to finish level for the tournament - tied for 53rd.

That was a little disappointing, as, with just five holes remaining I was 2 under par for the tournament. I had just birdied 13 with a good up and down over a bunker.

But then I three putted on the par 4 14th and dropped another shot on the par 3 17th.

Those two dropped shots cost me something in the region of ?2,000 - and importantly five or six places on the European Order of Merit.

However, that sort of thing doesn't prey on your mind when you're at the tail end of the money - it's when you're up there in the top 10 that dropped shots suddenly become very expensive.

They'd done a lot of work on the course, which was designed by Jose Maria Olazabal.

They're hosting the World Cup later this year and they've apparently had to do a lot of work on the greens as they were too small. So they've returfed some of the area which gave it a strange appearance as part of the green was a different colour - but it played quite well.

I understand they will be carrying out some further restructuring before the World Cup in November.

Having had a quick glance at the list I see I'm 164th - so there's work to be done if I'm to retain my card by finishing inside the top 115 come October. But I'm not concerned. There's an awful long way to go in the season and all the big-money events are yet to come.

So I have decided not to compete in the Canaries Open this week. It would have meant two consecutive weeks in Spain and I felt I needed a break.

Therefore I will be refreshed and ready for the Telecom Italia Open at the Castello di Tolcinasco Golf and Country Club in Milan next week.

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