Aaron Rai defeated Tommy Fleetwood on the first playoff hole to win the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. This is Rai’s third career DP World Tour win and first since 2020, where he also happened to defeat Fleetwood in a playoff.
Rai held a one-shot lead over Fleetwood and Nicolai Hojgaard after three rounds. Rai shot a six-under-66 in round three to get to 20-under for the tournament.
The final round started slow for Rai, who made three straight pars while his competitor Fleetwood started with a birdie and eagle on the first two holes to take a two-shot lead. Rai caught fire and made four consecutive birdies starting on hole four, which allowed him to tie with Fleetwood atop the leaderboard after the opening nine holes.
Rai took the lead with a birdie on the 11th hole, but Fleetwood answered with a birdie of his own on the 12th hole. On the 14th hole, Rai had a par putt from three feet that lipped out and dropped him to one shot back. Fleetwood took the lead on the 16th hole at 25-under with a birdie from just under 20 feet. Rai birdied the 17th hole to tie Fleetwood at 25-under with one hole to play. Both players missed their birdie putts on the 18th hole, leading to a playoff.
The leaders went back to the par-5 18th hole for the first playoff hole. Each player hit the fairway with their tee shot and then laid up to give themselves wedge shots in for their third shots. Rai went first, and his wedge shot rolled to 10 feet, applying the pressure to his competitor. Fleetwood hit his wedge to 12 feet. Fleetwood went first and missed his birdie putt on the right side of the hole, giving Rai a chance to win. Rai, who was on a similar line to Fleetwood, stepped up to his birdie putt and hit it right into the middle of the cup for the win.
Rai started the week 55th on the season-long Race to Dubai rankings. With this win, he moved up to ninth and earned himself a spot into the DP World Tour Championship next week. Fellow Englishman Matthew Jordan was the only other player to move into the top 50 of the Race to Dubai rankings. Jordan finished in a tie for 15th that moved him from 52nd to 50th in rankings. Marcell Schneider and Brandon Robinson Thompson were the two players to lose their spots in the top 50.
The final event of the DP World Tour season is next week in Dubai. The DP World Tour Championship will see the top 50 players from the Race to Dubai rankings compete to win the Harry Vardon Trophy. Defending champion Rory McIlroy is looking for his fourth career Harry Vardon Trophy.
