Rai beats Fleetwood in Abu Dhabi: DP World Tour decision made in Dubai

The penultimate station of DP World Tour in Abu Dhabi delivered a highly dramatic finish and rearranged the field of participants for the season finale in Dubai. Englishman Aaron Rai triumphed in a playoff, while German professional golfer Nicolai von Dellingshausen redeemed his ticket for the DP World Tour Championship and Marcel Schneider narrowly failed.

Here you can find the final leaderboard of the DP World Tour Abu Dhabi Championship.

The playoff crime thriller on the DP World Tour in Abu Dhabi

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, part of the DP World Tour Rolex Series, culminated in a thrilling jump-off for victory on Sunday. English compatriots Aaron Rai and Tommy Fleetwood finished the tournament with a total score of 25 under par. Fleetwood played a flawless 66 final round, but Rai (67 strokes) countered all attacks. The decision was made on the first extra hole (hole 18), where Rai made the victory perfect with a final birdie and thus celebrated his third title on the DP World Tour.

World ranking runner-up Rory McIlroy finished in a shared third place, which he shared with Dane Nicolai Højgaard. McIlroy made a splash with his sensational 62 final round — his best result of the season on the DP World Tour — but even catching up wasn't quite enough to make it into the playoff.

Rai: From wobbly candidate to DP World Tour end-of-year hero

For Aaron Rai, this success was of immense importance, as he was 55th in the Race to Dubai rankings before the start of the tournament. Only the top 50 are eligible for the final DP World Tour Championship. With the surprising victory, Rai secured 1500 points, jumped up to ninth place in the standings and impressively booked his ticket to Dubai.

His joy after the victory was correspondingly great: “It is difficult to put into words at the moment what it feels like or how I will process the whole thing. But it's just great to be here.” Rai paid great respect to his defeated opponent: “Tommy is a phenomenal player. He is an even better person than he is a player and that says a lot.”

Rai experienced a brief moment of shock on the 14th hole when he awarded a short par putt. However, the quick mental comeback was decisive: “My caddie Jason was great... He told me to just stay present and focus on playing the next shots and finishing strong.”

German record: Von Dellingshausen qualifies for the DP World Tour final

The impact of the tournament on German professionals was divided. Nicolai von Dellingshausen finished the tournament in 59th place, but maintains his position in the top 50 of the season standings. He is in 40th place and can therefore plan for the DP World Tour Championship.

Marcel Schneider, on the other hand, missed out on qualifying very narrowly. He slipped to 52nd place in the overall standings. Schneider is currently the first alternative (successor) and would have to hope for the cancellation of a qualified player in order to still be able to participate in the grand final of the DP World Tour.

Outlook: McIlroy takes the Race to Dubai lead

At the top of the season standings, Rory McIlroy consolidated his lead. With his shared third place in Abu Dhabi, he was able to extend his lead over the new runner-up, Marco Penge, to 767 points. Despite the comfortable cushion, the Race to Dubai is still open, as the winner of the final in Dubai will be rewarded with 2,000 points. McIlroy was already looking ahead: “I just tried to accelerate and play as many birdies as possible, knowing full well that I'm trying to win this tournament but also get the biggest cushion possible for Dubai next week.”

All eyes are now on the season finale, which DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, where the battle for the European Golf Trophy will be decided in just a few days.