Relaxed Rocca rolls along

He ambled along at his own pace, sometimes 20 or 30 yards behind his playing partners. Totally free from pain for the first time in three months, Costantino Rocca was at peace with the world as he shot a second successive 69 at Winged Foot yesterday.

His ball-striking appeared so pure that it seemed inconceivable he could miss a fairway, even on this punishingly tight layout. In fact he erred only once with the driver and, predictably, it cost him a shot - at the long fifth.

There were also bogeys at the short 13th, where he pulled a three-iron tee-shot into a greenside trap, and at the next, where he overshot the green with a five-iron approach. But there were also birdies, a few of which were of the highest calibre.

The first of them came at the ninth where his trusty putter yielded rich compensation for a not-so-precise five-iron. It looked to be about 25 yards. As long as the raker he holed in 1995 to get into a play-off for the British Open? "This was more longer than St Andrews," he said.

Then came a six-iron to five feet at the 190-yard 10th: another birdie. But like the wine-lover he is, he reserved the best until the last. Buoyed by a birdie at the 17th, where a 15-footer sneaked inside the right lip, Rocca smashed a beautiful drive down the right side of the 18th fairway.

With 184 yards to the pin and facing a gentle breeze, he knew a solidly-struck five-iron was the correct club. His judgment was so good that the ball ran across the hole before coming to rest less than three feet away. By the time he reached the green, smiling broadly, the spectators were cheering him to the echo.

This was an extremely important performance by the 40-yearold Italian, who was forced to withdraw from the US Open in June because of shoulder damage sustained when lifting luggage. Then came a missed cut at last month's British Open, in which he also had to contend with painful ribs.

Those experiences contrasted sharply with the first "major" of the season when he played the final round of the US Masters with the runaway winner, Tiger Woods. Somewhat overwhelmed by the occasion, Rocca still managed to shoot a final round of 75 for a share of fifth place.

After another share of fifth place, this time in the Italian Open a month later, Rocca's game went into decline. Injury problems meant that in the next five tournaments, he missed four cuts, the only exception being a share of 65th place in the Volvo PGA Championship.

Then came three further missed cuts in the Deutsche Bank Open, the European Grand Prix at Slaley Hall and the German Open. Over that period, from the middle of May until the end of June, his Ryder Cup challenge was virtually at a standstill, his only reward being a paltry 1,867 points at Wentworth.

Since then, his earnings from six events, including the British Open, have been a relatively modest £29,819, while challengers such as Ignacio Garrido and Padraig Harrington were making serious headway.

Currently 10th in the European Ryder Cup standings, Rocca played the first two rounds here in the company of Mark O'Meara, a virtual certainty on the US team. He and O'Meara started the day in a share of 12th place on one-under-par, but they were separated by four strokes after the American had carded a second round of 73.

Did they talk about Valderrama? "No," he replied, "but Mark is a very nice man." You might be meeting him in the Ryder Cup, we suggested. "No problem," said Rocca, with one of his most charming smiles.

The Italian will be at The K Club next week for the Smurfit European Open, in which he was runner-up last year to Per-Ulrik Johansson. But he is trying to keep his mind in the present. "I am thinking only of this tournament," he said. "If I play well here and next week, it should not be a problem making the Ryder Cup team."

His best performance in three previous challenges in the USPGA was in 1995 at Riviera, where admirably consistent rounds of 70, 69, 68, 69 for an eight-under-par aggregate of 276, left him tied 17th behind Steve Elkington. "I like these conditions, particularly the fast greens," he said. "They help my rhythm and give me confidence."

Meanwhile, he showed a marked reluctance to talk about his recent injuries. Had he sought medical help? "Oh no, no," he replied emphatically. "I do that and I only put in my mind that I have pain." He went on: "No. I think the best thing is that I help myself."

Among golf's most dramatic moments in recent years was the sight of Rocca collapsing in anguish at the Valley of Sin in St Andrews after he had duffed a chip to the 72nd green. And it was followed by the opposite extreme of emotion as he jumped with delight when a putt of about 65 feet raced into the hole, earning him a play-off with John Daly.

The quintessential, emotional latin, Rocca delights in such drama, as he did when he scored a hole in one in the Ryder Cup at Oak Hill in 1995. Indeed it is impossible not to admire this former box factory worker, who can't believe his good fortune in being here this week, trading strokes with the elite of the game.

For fear anyone might be concerned about his current well-being, he assured us: "My health is good, my spirit is good and my heart is very strong." And it wasn't difficult to picture him saying the same thing at Valderrama next month.