ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — England’s Aaron Rai overcame a shocking short miss with two late birdies to shoot a 5-under 67 and make a 10-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat Tommy Fleetwood and win the Abu Dhabi Championship on Sunday.
Rai returned from a two-month break to score his first win of the year and his third European Tour title since defeating Fleetwood at the 2020 Scottish Open. In August 2004, he won the Wyndham Championship, his first PGA Tour title.
Rory McIlroy started the back nine at Yas Links with five consecutive birdies and finished with a 62, equaling his lowest score on the European Tour. In the end, he was one stroke behind, but he has extended his lead heading into the race to Dubai, which ends next week.
Fleetwood had already had a memorable season as Europe’s Ryder Cup champions with a record of four wins and one loss, and were aiming for their third world title. He sank a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th and tied Rye with a 15-foot par putt on the 17th.
On the par-5 18th, both players narrowly missed out on birdie opportunities in regulation. Fleetwood shot a 66 to tie for a lie at 25-under 263.
They finished one stroke ahead of McIlroy and Nikolai Hjøgaard of Denmark, narrowly missing a 15-foot eagle putt on the final hole to enter the playoff. He finished with a 66.
“It’s difficult to explain this feeling in words,” Lai said. “It’s great to be here.”
The competition for low scores was fierce that day, and the 30-year-old Rye lost his lead after his 3-foot par putt on the 14th hole spun out of the cup. He then had to scramble for par on the 15th, sinking a 6-foot putt.
But on No. 16, he hit a 5-iron to 8 feet for birdie, coming within one stroke of Fleetwood, who made a 15-foot birdie. Rye made an 18-foot putt on the par-3 17th hole to reach 25 under, but Fleetwood needed a 15-foot putt for par to stay tied.
In the playoffs, it became a pitch-and-putt battle as neither player reached 616 yards with two hits. Fleetwood’s birdie chance missed to the right, and Rye made it.
Rai entered the week in 55th place at the Race to Dubai, and the win moves him up to ninth place and qualifies him for the top-50 DP World Tour Championship, the final race of the season in Dubai next week. Matthew Jordan tied for 15th place, earning him the 50th spot.
Defending champion McIlroy will aim for his seventh title as European No. 1 next week, but his runner-up finish in Abu Dhabi gave him an even bigger cushion.
England’s Marco Penge tied for ninth place with 63 points, leaving him 767 points and 2,000 points behind the winner in Dubai.
“I just tried to stay calm and get as many birdies as I could, knowing that not only was my goal to win this tournament, but I was also trying to give myself as much cushion as possible heading into Dubai next week,” McIlroy said.
