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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Woods’ control vanishes

Robert Rock held his nerve Sunday to beat U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods at the Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) Golf Championship for the biggest win of the Englishman’s career.

The 117th-ranked Rock shot a 2-under 70 for an overall 13-under 275 to beat the 22-year Northern Irishman by a shot and the 14-major winner by two. Woods finished in a tie for third with Thomas Bjorn (68) and Graeme McDowell (68).

Woods started the final round tied for the lead with the unheralded Rock. He appeared poised to win his second tournament in a row after ending a two-year winless drought with victory last month at the Chevron World Challenge.

But the control Woods displayed for much the weekend abandoned him Sunday and it was Rock who held it together down the stretch.

“I didn’t hit the ball as well as I would like to,” Woods said. “Today I was just a touch off. I was righting the ball through the fairways. I was hitting the ball a little bit further than I thought I would. … So something to look at, and something to try and figure out.”

Rock wobbled on the 18th when his drive landed in a pile of rocks near the water — forcing him to take a drop. But he recovered beautifully, reaching the green in four and then two-putting for the win.

The loss is the second straight time Woods has failed to win with at least a share of the lead after 54 holes. He lost the Chevron World Challenge in 2010 after going into the final round with a four-shot lead over McDowell.

Woods acknowledged it wasn’t the way he wanted to start the 2012 season but said he took solace from the control he showed the first three days and the putts he made over the final three days. He missed out on his 84th win and the fifth time in nine years to open the season with a victory.

“Obviously the ultimate goal is to win and I didn’t win,” Woods said. “I hit the ball good enough to win the golf tournament this week. Today I just didn’t give myself enough looks at it. Most of my putts were lag putts. I didn’t drive the ball in as many fairways as I should have. Some of the balls were running through. Other balls, I was just missing. It was a day I was just a touch off off the tee and consequently I couldn’t get the ball close enough to give myself looks.”

PGA Tour

Brandt Snedeker won the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, in a playoff no one imagined possible until Kyle Stanley hit a wedge into the water to triple bogey the last hole.

Snedeker had a tap-in birdie on the 18th and was so certain he would be the runner-up that he drove up to the media center for an interview, just in time to see Stanley run into trouble.

Both players made birdie on the 18th in the playoff, then Snedeker won on the second extra hole with a 5-foot par putt. Stanley’s putt from about the same length caught the right side of the lip.

It was a devastating loss for Stanley, who led by seven shots in the round, and was four shots ahead as he stood on the 17th green.

Snedeker won his third PGA Tour title. He closed with a 5-under 67 to match Stanley (74) at 16 under at Torrey Pines. John Rollins shot a 71 to finish third, two strokes back.