Robert Rock held his nerve yesterday to hold off US Open champion Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in the United Arab Emirates for the biggest win of the Englishman’s career.

The 117th-ranked Rock shot a 2-under-par 70 for an overall 13-under 275 to beat the 22-year-old Northern Irishman by a shot and the 14-time major winner by two. Woods finished in a tie for third with Thomas Bjorn (68) and Graeme McDowell (68). Matteo Manassero (69), the 18-year-old Italian, and George Coetzee (70) of South Africa were a shot further back.

Woods started the round tied for the lead with Rock. But the control Woods displayed for much of the weekend abandoned him, 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.’’

Woods started strong and it looked as though he might pull away from Rock, sinking a 40-footer on No. 2 for birdie and chipping to within a foot of the cup for a second birdie on the third. But Rock - who said Saturday he was a bit overwhelmed to face his idol - didn’t blink. He also birdied two of the first three holes to keep pace.

Then Woods began to unravel.

He started spraying his drives into the thick rough and fairway bunkers, resulting in the first of three bogeys. When Woods wasn’t missing the fairways, he was scrambling to save par, as he did on the 11th when overshooting the green. As he approached his shot in deep rough just off the 11th green, he sighed heavily.

Woods managed to save par on 11 by sinking a 12-footer and Rock just missed a birdie putt. Woods pumped his fist and appeared to be regaining momentum as he pulled within one shot of Rock on No. 13 when the Englishman had one of his three bogeys. But the 34-year-old Rock birdied two of the next three holes to seize control.

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, reaching the green in four and then two-putting for the win.

“It’s pretty hard to believe that I managed to win today. Very surprised,’’ said Rock. “I played good. So I guess I had a chance from early on, a couple of birdies made the day feel a little bit easier.’’

“But it’s difficult playing with Tiger. You expect almost every shot to threaten to go in.’’

McDowell played the most exciting round of the tournament yesterday, with an ace on No. 12, a chip-in on 13, and then a shot off the grandstand at 18 that led to a birdie and a tie for third.

PGA - Brandt Snedeker won the Farmers Insurance Open in a playoff not even he thought was possible.

Kyle Stanley led by seven shots early in the final round, and he still had a four-shot lead as he stood on the 18th tee at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Just like that, he went from being anointed a rising star to a meltdown that ranks among the most shocking in golf.

Snedeker, in the group ahead of him, hit wedge to a foot for birdie and a 67, then drove up to the media tent for an interview as the runner-up. He arrived in time to watch Stanley spin a wedge into the water, then three-putt from 45 feet for a triple-bogey 8 and a 74.

Two playoff holes later, both were in shock.

Snedeker’s tee shot hopped over the green and would have gone into a canyon except that it bounced off a television tower. He chipped to about 5 feet and made the par. Stanley three-putted again from just outside 45 feet, his 5-foot par putt catching the right lip.

“It’s just crazy,’’ Snedeker said. “To get my mind around what happened the last 30 minutes is pretty hard to do right now. My heart is out to Kyle. I feel bad for him to have to go through this.’’

Stanley, whose power, poise, and polish were on display all week, was reduced to tears. His eyes were glassy and his lip quivered as he tried to answer questions, a sad ending to an otherwise spectacular week along the Pacific bluffs.

“It’s not a hard golf hole,’’ Stanley said. “I could probably play it a thousand times and never make an 8.’’