Aaron Rai showered Tommy Fleetwood with praise after defeating his fellow countryman in a play-off to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Rai produced a seven-foot birdie putt to clinch the victory after Fleetwood only managed to hit par.
The duo went head-to-head after finishing top of the leaderboard on 25 under for the tournament. Rai almost waltzed away victorious in regulation, but his birdie putt on the 18th missed the edge of the hole.
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Rory McIlroy narrowly missed out on the play-off after a brilliant final-round 62, which was his best of the DP World Tour this season. Nicolai Højgaard also finished on 24 under, squandering an eagle chance at the death.
Rai showed his true colours after winning the European Tour. Speaking to Sky Sports, the 30-year-old described his opponent, Fleetwood, as a ‘phenomenal player’ and ‘even better person’.
“It’s hard to sum up [my emotions],” said Rai. “I think I was 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 just amazing to be stood here.
“Obviously, Tommy’s 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 to be out there with him was really special as well. So, amazing to be here.”
At the par-five second, Fleetwood stole the lead with a birdie. On coming from behind to win, Rai said: “My caddie, Jason, was great, walking down the 15th because it was a little bit of a shock to the system on 14, missing a short putt there.
“But he was great. Just telling me to stay present and focus on playing the next shot and trying to finish strong. Made a really good up and down on 15, which really helped.
“I made a nice putt there, which certainly gave me a little bit of confidence going forwards, so that was an important moment. It was nice to finish off pretty strong over the last three holes, as well.”
The DP World Tour Championship in Dubai will drop the curtain on the DP World Tour Play-Offs. The likes of McIlroy, Rai, and Fleetwood have a few days to recharge their batteries before they’re back in action for the year-ending showdown.
From Thursday, November 13, to Sunday, November 16, the world’s best golfers will lock horns at Jumeirah Golf Estates. Towards the end of McIlroy’s return to Yas Links, he began preparation for his trip to Dubai.
The Northern Irishman said: "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.”