The Rock Open falls to Lancashire and Mere ace
Jack Brooks maintained his strong finish to the season with victory in the Rock Open at Charnwood Forest.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play
Having finished second to Kibworth’s Martin Anderson last year, the England international was invited back to play and this time went one better, finishing six shots ahead of Scott Wormleighton (Birstall) while the 2021 champion was a further three shots back in third.
For Brooks, who this year has won both the Northern and Yorkshire Orders of Merit, a chance to tackle one of the toughest nine-hole courses in the country was an opportunity he could not miss. The event gets its name from the giant rock which is located on the Leicestershire course.
And it paid off for the 31-year-old, who was part of the Lancashire side that won the County Championship at Royal Norwich last month.
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“The course was set up brilliantly and it is pretty tough,” said the former professional, who also had a good run at the North of England Open Stroke Play last week.
“There is only one par five and the greens are really small. It was also pretty windy so I was really pleased to finish four under. I knew anything under par was going to go close.”
Brooks opened with a three-under-par 66 to lead at halfway by two from Wormleighton. His only blemish came at 17 where the notoriously slopey green caught him out and a three putt followed.
Before that he was as solid as a rock, birdieing the second after firing his approach to six feet and then driving the green at the short par four fourth before two putting.
His next birdie came at the par five 15th where he was just short in two and then he rolled in a 20-footer at the next to get to four under.
In the afternoon it got far more eventful for The Mere player. There were just two pars on the front nine as he turned in 33, the highlight being a stunning approach to three feet at the sixth where he had 200 yards in.
It all calmed down considerably on the back nine. After bogeying the tenth he birdied 17 thanks to another fabulous second shot, his iron shot finishing four feet below the pin.