Aaron Rai held his nerve to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Sunday, beating Tommy Fleetwood on the first playoff hole after a dramatic final day.
The 30-year-old sunk a birdie from just over eight feet to seal victory, emulating his only previous Rolex Series win. That came at the 2020 Scottish Open, and was also a playoff victory over Fleetwood.
Rai went into the final round with a one-shot lead over his fellow Englishman Fleetwood and Denmark’s Nicolai Højgaard. He emerged with a total of 263 after a topsy-turvy, five-under final round that included seven birdies and two bogeys.
Fleetwood moved one shot clear with two holes to play after a birdie on the 16th, but Rai pulled level again on the 17th and then missed a 10-foot birdie putt to win outright on the last. That set up a playoff at Yas Links where Rai prevailed to win the title and $1.5m (£1.13m) in prize money.
“Tommy is a phenomenal player and an even better person. To play with him the last two days was really special,” said Rai, the current world No 30. “You’re so focused on playing the round and staying in the zone, it’s hard to put into words at the moment how it feels. It is amazing to be stood here.”
Rory McIlroy left himself just too much to do, coming up one shot short in a tie for third place with Højgaard, after a stunning 10-under final round of 62. It was McIlroy’s lowest-ever round on the DP World Tour, comprising eight birdies and an eagle.
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Højgaard fired six birdies of his own, but his hopes of topping the leaderboard were hit by a bogey on the 12th. England’s Richard Mansell hit an excellent final-round 63 to finish tied for fifth place with Australia’s Daniel Hillier.
