Abu Dhabi Championship: Tiger Woods Finishes Tied For Third, Robert Rock Wins

Tied for the lead entering the final round, in position to win his first regular season event since “The Thanksgiving Incident,” noted golf enthusiast Tiger Woods fired a 72 in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, finishing at -11 and dropping to a tie for third place with Graeme McDowell and Thomas Bjorn behind winner Robert Rock (-13) and Rory McIlroy (-12).

Woods shot a 66 in the third round to storm to the top of the leaderboard into a tie with Rock, but the Brit was just steadier under pressure, something you could never imagine saying two years ago, but it’s come to be a reality of Woods’ current game. He’s been in great position to take tournaments going into Sunday, but has consistently faltered when the opportunity has presented itself.

After staying at the top of the leaderboard through the first few days of the 2012 Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, Woods finally overtook the lead after Friday’s round of golf. Woods shot a 66 in Round 3, putting himself at the top of the leaderboard with an 11 under. Woods isn’t alone on the leaderboard however, as Britain’s Robert Rock is also sitting pretty with an 11 under after the first three rounds. Rock also shot a 66 on Friday, following up his 70 round the day before.

There are four players hot on their tail entering the final round of Abu Dhabi, as Peter Hanson, Francesco Molinari, Rory McIlroy, and Paul Lawrie are all tied for third with nine under. Hanson came on in a fury after following up his round of 69, shooting a 64 on Friday to climb his way to third place.

The first day of the 2012 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship is in the books. The fourth event on the European Tour is also the first competition of the year for Tiger Woods, who finished the day at 2-under par, placing him in a five-way tie for ninth place on the leaderboard.

Tiger is paired with No. 3 Rory McIlroy, who finished the round at 5-under and a share of first place on the leaderboard, along with Robery Karlsson.

Tiger Woods makes his 2012 season debut at Abu Dhabi and he certainly is going to have a tough challenge ahead of him as he competes with several of the top golfers: No. 1 Luke Donald and No. 3 Rory McIlroy. Will Woods be able to compete with his high-profile competition? Woods certainly sounds as though he is physically ready to perform again (via USA Today):

Woods will receive $1.5 million for just appearing in this tournament.