England's Robert Rock held off the challenges of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy to claim the greatest victory of his career at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Sunday.

Despite a bogey at the last, Rock's final-round two-under-par 70 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club saw him finish on 13 under par, good enough for a narrow one-stroke victory over McIlroy, whose 69 did not quite prove enough on the day.

Tiger Woods, tied with Rock overnight, signaled his intent early in the final round with successive birdies at the second and third, but Rock matched those and Woods' challenge faltered as he inexplicably posted two bogeys, both after missing the green in two and failing to get up and down, immediately after his gains. Rock, meanwhile, parred the holes Woods bogeyed and then birdied the sixth to lead by three before the turn - a lead he would not again surrender.

Bogeys at the eighth and 13th brought his advantage down to only one shot, but Rock rallied with birdies at the 14th and 16th to reestablish a two-shot cushion.

Woods was left chasing Rock for the remainder of the round after his early bogeys, but couldn't put together a score that could trouble the Englishman, eventually finishing in a tie for third on 11 under with Dane Thomas Bjorn, who shot a 68, and Graeme McDowell, who also shot 68 - thanks in no small part to a hole-in-one at the 12th.

In fact, it was McIlroy with a two-under back nine after birdies at the 13th and 18th, who ended up grabbing second place.

It's only Rock's second victory in 227 European Tour events and the World No 117 won't soon forget what he managed to achieve this week.

"I really can't believe I have done that today," Rock said on Sky Sports.

"I was just very happy to be playing with Tiger. That's a special honour in itself."

Woods was magnanimous in defeat.

"I was just a touch off," said the former world number one, who hit only one fairway on the back nine and only six greens in regulation all day.

"But Robert played great. He made a couple of key up-and-downs and a couple of beautiful iron shots down the stretch."

McIlroy looked to be in a play-off when Rock's drive on the 18th appeared to be heading straight towards the lake, but it stopped just short. The ball was in the hazard amongst the rocks and the plants, though, and considering he had a two-shot cushion, Rock wisely chose to take a penalty drop.

Still short of the green in three, his pitch came up 25 feet short and he knew that he just needed the two-putt for the bogey and the win.

Having already holed birdie putts from 10 and six feet at the 14th and 16th, his touch did not desert him.

McIlroy was left to rue the two-shot penalty he suffered on Friday when he momentarily forgot the rules about brushing sand away from the ball off the green.

Rock's success has come much later in life than many of his contemporaries. While Tiger was already winning majors, he was still working in the Swingers Golf Centre in Tamworth. He was already 26 when he finally made it onto the European Tour and 31 when he finally won his first tournament, last year's Italian Open.

"It's been a steady progression and I've worked hard, but I didn't think this would happen," he said.

'This' was victory in a tournament that featured the world's top four players and a resurgent Tiger Woods.

Donald finished 48th and Westwood 17th, meaning that McIlroy's second place finish has lifted him above Lee Westwood in the world rankings, up to second.

As for Woods, it's only the ninth time in his storied career that he has led or shared the lead heading into the final round, only to not come out on top. He can still take much from his performance this week, however, which from tee to green often seemed like the Tiger of old.

Graeme McDowell's closing holes also provided a lot of entertainment. After an ace at the 12th - the third of the week after Sergio Garcia and Jose Manuel Lara did it in the first round - he chipped in on the next and then closed with two more birdies at 17 and 18.

The birdie at 18 may even have been more spectacular than the hole-in-one. McDowell thinned his third shot at the 18th and, after hitting the grandstand behind the green, the ball rebounded some 30 feet to within six feet of the flag.