By Tom Edrington

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Robert Rock was every bit of his last name as he battled head-to-head with Tiger Woods in the final round of the HSBC Championship.

It was every bit of a classic David and Goliath showdown at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club with Rock, winner of one world-wide title, up against Woods, winner of 99 world-wide championships. The two entered Sunday's final 18 tied at 11-under par through 54 holes.

What transpired was the 34-year-old Englishman taking Woods to the "School of Rock." Rock played cool, calm and steady all day, unphased and unflappable under the pressure of trying to win a huge event, packed with a world-class field.

In the end, not even a penalty stroke on the final hole could deter Rock's march as he finished with a two-under par 70 and a winning 72-hole total of 13-under par, 275, a shot better than the world's second-ranked player -- Rory McIlroy and two better than his playing partner, Woods.

If statistics are for losers, Woods' ended his day with loser's statistics. He hit only two fairways and six greens on a day when he struggled with his accuracy off the tee. It was some world-class scrambling that kept him close.

"I was just a touch off," Woods said and that seemed an understatement as he missed fairways and found himself in deep rough most of the round. "But Robert played great. He made a couple of key up-and-downs and a couple of beautiful irons shots down the stretch," Woods observed.

Rock, on the other hand, was simply rock-steady. He matched two early birdies by Woods and finished the front nine a shot clear of Woods, who saw his day start to crumble with back-to-back bogeys at three and four.

Rock led the 14-time major champion by one at the turn then increased it to two when Woods picked up a bogey at the 10th.

Woods did not make another birdie. Rock came up with two great fairway approaches at the 14th and 16th holes. At the 14th, he holed a 10-footer for birdie then drained another from six feet at 16. That got him to 14-under and three clear of Woods and two in front of McIlroy as he stood on the 18th tee.

Rock made it interesting when he drove into a hazard right of the fairway on that closing hole but he played smart, took his penalty and played for a safe bogey that provided the one-shot victory margin over McIlroy.

Rock was humble after his huge triumph. "I was just very happy to be playing with Tiger. That's a special honor in itself."

It was Rock's first win over a world class field and his second overall win on the European Tour. McIlroy finished second, just as he did last year while Woods' even-par round of 72 tied for third with Graeme McDowell and Thomas Bjorn at 11-under par.

The story of Rock's rise is simply a Cinderella tale and when he thought about his win, he remembered where he came from.

"It's been a steady progression and I've worked hard but I didn't think this would happen. The former club pro at the Swingers Golf Centre in Tanworth, England, remembered his days "selling Mars bars and watching Tiger win majors."

Two players, opposite ends of the golf achievement spectrum. Woods is still searching for his first official win since the Australian Masters in November of 2009 while Rock is on the rise and will climb into the world's top 60 with this win.

Go from 2010 to now and it's Rock who has outdone Woods' win total -- Rock 2, Woods 0.

 

School Of Rock: Englishman Tames Tiger, Wins HSBC Title