Overview
- Rai and Fleetwood finished 25 under after 72 holes before Rai holed an eight-foot birdie at the par-5 18th to win the one-hole playoff.
- Rory McIlroy fired a bogey-free 62 to reach 24 under, tying Nicolai Hojgaard after the Dane's eagle attempt at the last narrowly missed.
- The victory is Rai’s third DP World Tour title and his first on the circuit in more than five years.
- Rai climbs to ninth in the Race to Dubai to secure a berth in next week’s 50-player DP World Tour Championship.
- Abu Dhabi was the opening DP World Tour playoff event at Yas Links, where unusually low scoring produced a tense finish.