Aaron Rai held his nerve to brush off Tommy Fleetwood in a play-off and seal his third career DP World Tour triumph at the Abu Dhabi Championship.
The 30-year-old Englishman entered the final round at the Yas Links with a one-shot lead over fellow countryman Fleetwood and Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard on a day that consisted of a number of twists and turns. But the English duo could not be separated at the end of the round with both topping the leaderboard on 25 under. Rai missed a glorious opportunity to seal victory in regulation at the 18th but fluffed his lines missing a 10-foot birdie putt as he concluded the round with a 67. This left the door slightly ajar for Fleetwood but he could only match Rai’s total recording a 66 to force the play-off.
The pair returned to the 18th for the play-off which saw Rai make amends for his earlier miss sinking a seven-foot birdie to capture his first victory of the year and first on the DP World Tour since the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open in 2020, incidentally an event which also saw him defeat Fleetwood in a play-off.
“It’s hard to sum up,” Rai said following his win. “I think you’re just so focused on playing the round and obviously just trying to stay in your zone. It’s hard to put into words at the moment how this feels or how I’m going to reflect on it.
“But it’s just amazing to be stood here. Tommy is a phenomenal player. He’s an even better person than he is a player and that says a lot.
“To play with him the last two days and be out there with him was really special. So yeah, amazing to be here.”
The win catapults him from 55th on the Race to Dubai Rankings to 9th meaning he will take part in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. The event will see the top 50 in the rankings qualify.
Road to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy left himself with a lot to do on the final day as he came into the final round six shots off the pace but recorded an impressive 62, his lowest score on the circuit this season, which included five consecutive birdies to finish the event in the tie for third alongside Hojgaard on 24 under and extend his lead in the Race to Dubai over Englishman Marco Penge.
“I just tried to keep my foot down and make as many birdies as possible, knowing that I’m trying to win this tournament but also give myself the biggest cushion possible going into Dubai next week, as well,” McIlroy said.
What is the next event?
The next event on the DP World Tour schedule is the season finale DP World Tour Championship taking place between 13-16 November at Jumeirah Golf Estates Earth Course in Dubai.