Johnson Wins HSBC Champions

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Dustin Johnson held his nerve to earn victory in the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai.

Leading by three shots ahead of the final round, the American carded a fine six-under-par 66 to finish at 24 under.

He finished three clear of England's Ian Poulter, who was also six under on Sunday, while Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell was a further shot behind.

Justin Rose ended eight behind Johnson while Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy finished at -15.

"It was a lot of fun out there," Johnson said. "Those guys put a lot of pressure on me. I'm really proud of the way I handled myself."

McDowell is second behind Henrik Stenson on the European Tour's Race to Dubai standings, with Poulter moving up to fourth after he put up a brave defence of the title he won last year.

Poulter, though, was disappointed that he could not have closed the gap further on Swede Stenson, who finished tied 31st, with only two events remaining in Turkey and Dubai in the European Tour's Final Series.

"I'm a little disappointed not to put my hands back on the trophy but Dustin kind of finished the job," said Poulter.

"I'm in great form. The work I've done leading up this run of tournaments has really worked and I couldn't be hitting it any better right now."

Johnson's round started in disastrous fashion as he three-putted the opening hole.

Poulter took advantage by picking up shots at both the first and second, while McDowell birdied the first three holes to earn an early share of the lead with the Englishman.

Birdies at eight and nine got Johnson back into a share of the lead and although Poulter edged in front with a birdie on 12, Johnson birdied 13 and matched Poulter's birdie on the 14 to set up a grandstand finish.

Johnson went ahead when Poulter was unable to get up and down from a greenside bunker on the 15th and the American then chipped in for an eagle two on the 16th after hitting an iron just 10 yards short of the green.

Poulter's birdie putt did not look like going in until it just caught the left edge of the hole, but Johnson now held a two-shot lead on 23 under.

A birdie on the 17th from eight feet extended his lead to three and gave Johnson a welcome cushion playing the 18th, the hole where he drove into the water to run up a double-bogey seven on Saturday.

Unsurprisingly Johnson hit an iron off the tee and laid up with his second, eventually missing a short birdie putt after Poulter and McDowell had done likewise.

It had no effect on the result however, the 29-year-old Johnson claiming his eighth PGA Tour victory and a first prize of more than £856,000.

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Solid Rock in Abu Dhabi

Robert Rock claimed the biggest win of his career when lifting the Abu Dhabi Championship trophy on Sunday.

The Englishman fought off the challenges of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy with a closing round of 70 to clinch victory by a single shot.

Rock overcame the jitters on the par-five closing hole, where he eventually made the six he needed after being forced to take a penalty drop.

"I can't believe I've done that today - such an amazing feeling," said the modest Midlander. "I was very happy to be playing with Tiger Woods today, and that's a special honour in itself.

"I really surprised myself, early on I was very, very nervous, but hit some good shots and started thinking 'why not'.

"I've worked hard on my game but didn't think this would happen."

Outplayed

It was a nervy finish for the world number 117, who had outplayed playing partner Woods for much of the final day.

The pair started the round tied for the lead but Woods handed his rival an early lead with back-to-back bogeys at the fourth and fifth after both had picked up shots at the two previous holes.

Rock went three clear with a seven-foot birdie putt on the sixth and Woods had to work hard to keep his deficit to that after losing his ball control in the windier conditions.

By the turn, though, the gap was back to one. Rock was twice in rough on the long eighth and bogeyed, then Woods made a seven-footer of his own for birdie on the ninth.

They turned at 13 under and 12 under respectively, while Scot Paul Lawrie was alone in third two back and McIlroy, having bogeyed the short seventh, three behind with Dane Thomas Bjorn and Italian Francesco Molinari.

Woods gave a shot straight back at the 10th after finding a bunker off the tee and then another by the green.

There could have been a two-shot swing at the next but Woods holed his par putt from 15 feet following a poor approach before Rock missed his birdie attempt from closer in.

Woods bunkered

McIlroy kept his round going with birdie from 22 feet at the 13th before a good par save at the 14th from 15 feet, while at the same time Rock was bogeying the hole behind to see his lead reduced to just one again.

The leader was in sand again off the tee at 14, only to fire his approach to 15 feet and hole the putt, while Woods went from bunker to bunker once again, relying on his scrambling skills to get up and down and keep the lead to two.

The pair parred the next in regulation before Woods managed to save par again at the next despite another wayward drive, but once more it was Rock turning on the style under pressure as he birdied from six feet following another fine approach.

McIlroy had birdied the closing hole to make Rock's lead two going down the last, and he needed it after finding the hazard from the tee forcing him to take a penalty drop.

But it proved to be the correct choice, his lay-up allowing him to pitch to around 25 feet, and a perfect lag putt to the side of the cup ensured there would be no further hiccups.

"I just wanted to keep hitting good shots, making good swings and giving myself putts for birdies," added the new champion. "I was expecting some pressure so I was glad to make some decent swings - until the 18th tee.

"It's an amazing tournament to win, I've not done that well here before either so I'm amazed I've been able to do that this week."

Woods, who found only five fairways and a similar number of greens in regulation, went round in a disappointing level par and had to settle for a share of third place alongside Graeme McDowell and Bjorn.

McDowell came home in 31 strokes, a hole in one at the 12th - the third of the week there - was followed by a birdie at the next while two closing birdies saw him round in 68, to take him to -11 alongside the Dane, who also carded a bogey-free 68.

The biggest loser of the day was Sweden's Peter Hanson, who returned a round of the week 64 to get into Sunday's final group, but followed up with a 78 that saw him slip all the way back into a tie for 35th.

Final Results

Tiger Shares Lead with Rock

Tiger Woods showed ominous signs of a return to his best to take a share of the lead after three rounds of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

The former world number one carded a third-round 66, finishing off with a fine birdie at the last to stand atop a crowded leaderboard on which at least 20 players will fancy their chances of a Sunday charge.

Looking in determined mood throughout, Woods had six birdies and avoided any mistakes, making it only two bogeys through 54 holes of his first tournament of the season.

Englishman Robert Rock, playing in the group behind, proved his most consistent challenger and made a birdies at the last two holes to match Woods' 66.

They have a two-stroke lead over the chasing pack which includes Rory McIlroy.

Playing with Woods for the third day running, the US Open champ matched Tiger over the front nine as the pair went out in two-under but McIlroy never had the same consistency off the tee on the back and couldn't keep pace.

Peter Hanson carded the best round of the day, an eight-under 64, to vault from tied 32nd to tied third.

The Swede birdied three of his first five holes and picked up five more shots along the way to be part of a four-man group at nine-under which features McIlroy, Francesco Molinari and Paul Lawrie.

Halfway leader Thorbjorn Olesen struggled after dropping shots at five and six, but three birdies around the turn helped him home in 71, three shots off the leading duo alongside George Coetzee, James Kingston and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet.

Dane Thomas Bjorn and Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano had showed what was possible on a perfect day for scoring by going to the turn in 30. Both would shoot 65s to end at seven-under and five-under respectively.

Consistent

Woods wasn't getting carried away by his round despite looking pretty flawless off the tee and in control on the greens.

"I was just kind of consistent today," he said. "I didn't do a whole lot wrong, I didn't do a whole lot right. I was just kind of methodically moving my way around the golf course and six birdies piled up.

"I was just trying to hit the ball in the fairway and then move on from there."

As for the final round, he said: "I've got to go out there, get to it and post a good number."

Rock, meanwhile, just seemed delighted to have the chance of playing in the final round of a big event with a 14-time major winner.

"I can't wait. Pretty cool isn't it. I'm just going to enjoy it," said Rock, whose win at last year's Italian Open was his one and only victory so far on the European Tour.

Tiger Makes Season Debut at HSBC

Former world number one Tiger Woods has opted to play in Abu Dhabi this week, and he could be back in the world top 10 if he were to win the tournament.

The 14-time major champion dropped out of the top 50 last month but rose to 21st after ending a two-year wait for a title at the Chevron World Challenge.

In his first event since, he will now make his Abu Dhabi Championship debut.

The world's top four, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer, are also in action this week.

In rankings terms, it is the second best field for a European Tour event outside the four majors and World Championship events since the list began in 1986.

Woods normally chooses to begin his season in America at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, near San Diego.

The 36-year-old has won five times at the course, which was also the venue for the last of his 14 majors, the 2008 US Open.

However, there are considerably more ranking points on offer in Abu Dhabi and there is also the added incentive of an appearance fee reported to be well into seven figures.

Should his renaissance continue it is possible Woods could be in a position to challenge for the world number one spot as early as April at the Masters.

"I'm very excited to get going," said Woods. "I'm looking forward to testing my game against a very strong field."

Woods has dropped to 25th in the rankings after taking six weeks off following his World Challenge victory at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, on 4 December, when he birdied the final two holes to beat Zach Johnson by one stroke.

"It's hard to believe it was that long," said Woods. "It was a nice way to end the season and hopefully I'll win a few more in 2012."

The four-time Masters champion has confirmed that he will make his first start on the PGA Tour at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am from 9-12 February.

Meanwhile, Europe's Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal has found himself one of the beneficiaries of a decision to increase the field in Abu Dhabi from 126 to 129.

The 45-year-old had not been given one of the seven sponsors' invitation places, which went to Woods, Sweden's Henrik Stenson, Australian Jason Day, Korean KJ Choi, China's Liang Wen-chong, England's Challenge Tour winner Tommy Fleetwood and locally-based professional Stuart Fee, a 34-year-old Englishman who last month won a qualifying event.

But the Spaniard, who finished sixth at the Volvo Golf Champions event in South Africa at the weekend and was heading to the middle east in any case for a Ryder Cup press conference, received the news that he, German Alex Cejka and Swede Niclas Fasth would all now be able to compete in the tournament.