Rock steady under the utmost pressure

TIGER WOODS did not know much about Robert Rock before yesterday. He does now. The Englishman, a former driving-range professional at a place called “Swingers”, introduced himself to the former world number one in emphatic fashion with a nerveless performance over the final 18 holes of the Abu Dhabi Championship to secure the biggest win of his career.

A round of 70, two under par, gave the Englishman a one-shot victory over Rory McIlroy (69) with Woods, who shot a closing 72, one shot further back in joint third place along with Graeme McDowell who shot a closing 68, and Thomas Bjorn.

The 32-year-old Northern Irishman recorded a hole in one (the third of the week) at the 186-yard 12th when his seven-iron tee shot bounced three times before rolling gently into the cup.

Gareth Maybin finished 14th following his closing 71 while Pádraig Harrington was back in joint 35th after a disappointing 73.

“I can’t quite believe it,” Rock said as he was ushered into the white light of immediate fame, a dazed look on his face. He was not the only one. This was meant to be the day that Woods finally re-established himself as the world’s leading player, if not in the official rankings, then certainly in the minds of his peers. The former world number one started the round in a tie for the lead alongside Rock and finished in a tie for third.

For three days the American played beautifully, hitting fairways and greens with metronomic consistency. But when the bell went for the most exacting test he has faced since his return from personal scandal, he was left running on the spot.

There were some flashes early in his round – he fashioned an outrageous birdie from underneath a eucalyptus tree on the par-five second and followed that with another birdie at the next – but a pattern of missed fairways and misjudged irons was quickly established. “I was just a touch off today. I was hitting the ball through the fairways and a couple of my irons shots were going a lot further than they were supposed to. I just need to keep building and get more consistency,” Woods said afterwards.

Over the years the American had won 52 of the 60 tournaments in which he had held the lead after 54 holes. But Rock now joins the expanding group who have managed to hold Woods at bay.

“Robert played great today. He was solid, he was consistent and he didn’t do anything wrong. He was in play, he was consistent, hit a couple of beautiful iron shots down the stretch and made some putts,” Woods said.

Rock proved capable of withstanding the ultimate pressure

“It doesn’t get an awful lot harder than playing with Tiger Woods in the final group. I’ve shown I can handle that,” he said.

Guardian Service