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Aaron Rai demonstrated remarkable nerve to claim the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Sunday, beating Tommy Fleetwood in a tense playoff after a topsy-turvy final round of play.

The Englishman nailed a crucial birdie putt from around eight feet to seal the victory, echoing his sole prior tournament triumph at the 2020 Scottish Open, which was also a play-off victory against the same opponent.

Final Round Excitement

The champion entered the final round with a single stroke advantage over countryman Fleetwood and Danish golfer Nicolai Højgaard. He finished with a total score of twenty-under after a topsy-turvy, 67 final round that included seven birdie putts and two bogeys.

The challenger edged a stroke ahead with two holes remaining after a birdie putt on the 16th, but Rai tied it up again on the seventeenth and then missed a ten-foot birdie putt to claim victory on the last green.

Playoff Climax

This led to a play-off at Yas Links where the eventual winner prevailed to take the title and $1.5 million (£1.13 million) in winnings.

{“Tommy is a world-class player and an even better person. To compete alongside him the last two days was truly memorable,” stated the winner, the present 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 is. It is amazing to be holding the trophy.”

Other Contenders

Rory McIlroy left himself a bit too far to do, coming up one shot behind in a shared third place with Højgaard, after a stunning 10-under closing round of ten-under. It was his best-ever round on the DP World Tour, comprising eight birdie putts and one eagle.

The Danish golfer carded six birdie putts of his own, but his chances of topping the leaderboard were dented by a bogey on the 12th. English golfer Mansell hit an superb last round 63 to finish tied for fifth with Australia’s Daniel Hillier.