Neil Robertson to miss the World Open after travelling to the wrong Barnsley
Robertson will miss his second tournament of the season (credit:Imaginechina/PA Images)
Neil Robertson will miss the 2019 World Open after driving to the wrong location for his scheduled qualifying match.
Robertson, who is based in Cambridge, was due to face Ian Burns in the qualifying round at the Barnsley Metrodome in Yorkshire on Friday, but accidentally set his sat-nav for the small village of Barnsley in Gloucestershire.
The Australian was unable to reroute the 170-mile journey in time for his match and was forced to forfeit the tie, handing Burns a bye into the main event, which takes place in Yushan, China from October 28 to November 3.
It is not the first time Robertson has missed out on a tournament this season; he missed the Riga Masters in July along with a number of other players after their flight to Latvia was cancelled at late notice.
Robertson posted on Twitter: “Hopefully I’ll be able to either play or complete a match this season.
“A friend always drives me to qualifiers but he selfishly entered a Challenge Tour event this weekend.”
The 37-year-old’s last competitive outing resulted in a shock 5-1 defeat to Matthew Selt in the Last 32 of the China Championship last month.