Snooker ace drives to the wrong Barnsley

It was a long drive back to Cambridge for Neil Robertson

Former world champion Neil Robertson had to forfeit his World Open qualifier on Friday – because he drove to the wrong Barnsley.

The Australian, who lives in Cambridge, accidentally set his sat-nav for the village of Barnsley in Gloucestershire.

However, the qualifiers were being held at the Barnsley Metrodome in the Yorkshire town – 170 miles away.

By the time he realised his error, it was too late and Robertson called to withdraw, sending Ian Burns through.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to either play or complete a match this season,” said Robertson on social media.

Robertson, 37, also had to withdraw from the Riga Masters in Latvia in July after a cancelled flight left him and several other players stranded at Luton airport.

When asked on Twitter how he had forgotten the location of an event he has played in before, Robertson replied: “A friend always drives me to qualifiers but he selfishly entered a Challenge Tour event this weekend.”

Englishman Burns, 34, will now play in the final stages of the tournament in Yushan, China later in October.

According to the most recent UK census in 2011, Barnsley in Gloucestershire has a population of 209, compared with 91,297 in the more well known Barnsley in South Yorkshire.