‘It’s crazy’ – Former Coventry captain shocked as he books US Open spot after switching sports

Former Coventry City skipper Carl Baker produced an incredible performance after qualifying for the US Open as Robert Rock’s caddy.

The former Sky Blues favorite plays six himself after taking up regular golf just 12 months ago and offered to caddy for his partner and golf partner, who retired as a pro several years ago after 20 years of playing in the European competition. Tour.

Rock, 47, winner of the Italian Open and the Abu Dhabi Championship in 2011 and 2012, is eligible to compete in Open qualifiers each year and asked Baker, who coached his son’s soccer skills , to frame him at Walton Heath in Surrey on Monday.

A good caddy is worth its weight in gold to a golfer, seen as the right hand with crucial advice on shots, club selection and the course. And Baker helped Rock finish fourth and among nine players to qualify for the prestigious major at Pinehurst in North Carolina in August.

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“It’s the most random thing ever,” Baker said, still coming to terms with the realization. “I’m friends with Rocky and I’ve played with him most weeks over the last year and coached his son. He has played on the European Tour for the past 20 years and retired two years ago, but still goes in the major event qualifiers.

“He’s played at Walton Heath in Surrey for the last ten/eleven years and never qualified but the pitch is ridiculous. I think 95 percent of the 150-160 in the business are all touring pros, all massive names and millionaires who do this as a full-time job. Obviously, Rocky doesn’t play much anymore, only once a week socially, so he doesn’t have a caddy.

“So I told him if he was thinking about playing in the US Open qualifier, let me know because I would caddy for him. He said that would be great, so we went down on Monday and played two 18 holes in the same day. We went there with no expectations and I was happy to be on a top golf course in this country and on the ropes with all these players that I’m used to watching on television, so it felt a little surreal to be in clubhouse with everyone. these top golfers from everywhere.”

He added: “Rocky turned up and hadn’t even had a practice round, he was so unprepared. Each player had yardage cards so they knew how far the flag was and where the bunkers were etc. It’s about £70 each for these cards so we just took the plunge.

“He did really well the first 18 holes and was three under. The top nine players qualify, so we knew they had to go maybe eight under to qualify, and at the start of the day it’s just impossible and you know it’s never going to happen.

“But he still played really well in the second 18 and the crowd went from about 20 people watching us to 30 people, then it was about 50 and then 100 people. And then he was seven or eight under and straight in the mix with only three or four holes left, and I was like, “Oh my God, you actually have a chance – if you can get a birdie on the last four holes, we’re going to America, and we took the mickey and poked fun at each other.

“The player I was playing with – a full-time pro on the European Tour – was laughing and joking about Rocky’s qualification, then he went into the bunker on 16 and went nine under, which is where he finished.

“We were coming back and there were Sky Sports cameras and hundreds of people watching us. I was 20 meters behind him and they were carrying his bag and people were coming up to me and congratulating us and telling us to enjoy America. I had no idea what was going on. It was my first time doing it and I had no idea what I was doing.

“I watch golf all the time and I would look at what the caddies were wearing to know what to wear, I would watch when they take out the flag and how they rate the bunkers, so I was literally copying what everyone else was doing. I have no experience and didn’t realize it qualified as it hadn’t been confirmed at that stage. I was trying to act calm and professional, and I couldn’t help but think, “God, imagine if he actually qualifies to play in the US Open at Pinehurst, as one of the most famous courses ever on one of the most big competitions. “

Speaking to CoventryLive, the 41-year-old, who played 182 games and scored 28 goals for the Sky Blues between 2009 and 2014, said: “We were sitting in the clubhouse and all these players and caddies were coming and I congratulated. One guy said he’d been caddying for 20 years trying to get into this tournament and hadn’t made it yet, and another guy assumed I’d been caddying a little longer than him. He asked me how long I’ve been caddying and I said: “about seven hours!”. They couldn’t believe it and they expected me to do it on debut.”

Asked how much he played a part in Rock’s success that day by offering expert advice, he explained: “I’m good friends with another pro called Ross Fisher and his caddy is a good mate too so I sent him a message to ask him for some advice and he just said, “See, shut up and keep up.”

“So I was thinking just go, carry the bag and don’t speak unless spoken to. If they go into the bunker, then evaluate the bunker and do everything right, so I didn’t know if I was getting involved a lot or just clearing clubs and stuff like that.

“But I’m half-decent at golf, I play four or five times a week and now I’m a six handicap, so I’m confident about that. And I was getting a lot more involved than I imagined, and Rocky would ask me things, so I’d give him the yards to the bunkers and ask about the wind, and I’d throw grass and tell him it was coming out. right etc.

“It was class, to be fair. I was very nervous at first but I got more and more confident as the day went on and even on the last hole the 18th where there were hundreds of people around and he was standing over the ball in what was the most important hit of the day. and people were talking in the background. I could see he was restless on the ball so I asked everyone to be quiet and keep the noise down, silencing hundreds of people, which I wouldn’t have done for the first 18 holes.

“Rocky backed off, calmed down and then hit this incredible shot out of the rough, over the bunker and into the middle of the green and he was two putts away.”

After qualifying, Baker admitted he wasn’t sure he would go to the Open, thinking Rock would get a professional caddy instead.

“People were congratulating me, saying how crazy I would be to go to Pinehurst, and I told them they might not take me,” he explained. “They could get a proper caddy, so I wasn’t sure I was going to go. But they were saying that Rocky is superstitious and it wouldn’t be possible for him to take someone else.

“Obviously we were hoping he would and then he came after doing his Sky Sports interviews and said, ‘Do you like America then, Bakes?’ We laughed and made up because we’re going to be there with the likes of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and even Bernhard Langer – the best field in the world – so it’s going to be an amazing experience.”

He added: “He’s played in the US Open twice before and the best tournament he had was in Abu Dhabi in the final pairing with Tiger Woods and beat him on the last day. He also won the Italian Open but never played at Pinehurst. He actually told me he went there on the coach to look once and they were turned away so they couldn’t even get in. And now he will play there.

“I’ve only been playing for a year. I didn’t play when I was playing football because I was a professional and I wasn’t going to play 18 holes if I was training the next day, so I only played twice a year, once at my brother’s memorial and at Coventry. The city’s annual charity day where I borrowed clubs and went to bed.

“But I’ve been playing three or four times a week at my local club Forest of Arden and I’ve got my handicap down to six and I’m loving it.

“I’ll be the most inexperienced caddy out there. It’s funny that I actually go!”

Baker is clearly a natural, explaining: “I rode back with Rocky and I told him to tell me if I did anything wrong or if he wanted me to change to tell me just because it was the first time I done caddy but he told me to do what i did on monday because it was perfect and it worked really well.

“But because of my sports background, I wasn’t just quiet and I saw that he was starting to get nervous three or four shots from the end when he hit a bad tee shot and he said he was feeling tired and he said his swing his was starting to walk. I knew they had three of the four massive holes left and I told him it was on his mind, I told him he was swinging well and playing brilliantly.

“I said he’s only feeling tired in his mind and every golfer would feel the same way at that point and start going through, so I told him if he could birdie the last few holes, no many would be able to do that. . So I gave him talks and stuff, which I’m good at anyway, and kept him really positive.

“So it worked really well and because we’re mates and stuff, we get along really well and there was no pressure. He knows I’m not doing it for the money or anything. I just love the sport and being out there.”

He added: “I can’t believe there has ever been a caddy whose first professional event is a major. It just wouldn’t happen. She’s crazy! I must be his lucky charm because every time I play with him he’s incredible.”

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