🔗 Share this article

The 30-year-old golfer displayed remarkable nerve to claim the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on the final day, defeating his compatriot in a tense play-off following a rollercoaster last day of competition.

The Englishman nailed a decisive birdie putt from around eight feet to seal the win, repeating his sole prior Rolex Series triumph at the Scottish Open in 2020, which was likewise a playoff win over the same opponent.

Final Round Drama

Rai started the last day with a single stroke advantage over countryman Tommy Fleetwood and Denmark’s Højgaard. He ended up with a total score of twenty-under after a topsy-turvy, five-under final round that featured seven birdie putts and two bogeys.

Fleetwood moved one shot clear with two holes to play after a birdie putt on the sixteenth, but Rai tied it up again on the seventeenth and then failed to convert a 10-foot birdie putt to claim victory on the final green.

Play-Off Decider

That led to a playoff at the Yas Links course where the eventual winner prevailed to take the title and $1.5 million (£1.13 million) in prize money.

{“Tommy is a world-class golfer and an even more person. To compete alongside him the final two rounds was truly memorable,” said the winner, the current world No 30. “You’re so focused on playing the round and staying in the zone, it’s difficult to describe at the present how it is. It is incredible to be holding the trophy.”

Notable Contenders

The Northern Irish star left himself a bit too far to do, finishing a stroke short in a shared third place with the Dane, after a stunning 62 closing round of ten-under. It was his best-ever round on the DP World Tour, comprising eight birdie putts and an eagle.

The Danish golfer fired six birdies of his own, but his hopes of leading the standings were dented by a dropped shot on the twelfth. English golfer Richard Mansell produced an excellent final-round seven-under to end up in a tie for fifth place with Australia’s Daniel Hillier.