Tommy Fleetwood fired a brilliant closing round of 65 to become only the second player to successfully defend the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The 2017 Race to Dubai champion won the title by one shot 12 months ago – a victory which sparked a sensational 2017 European Tour campaign – and he doubled his victory margin this time, finishing two strokes clear of Ross Fisher.
Fisher had led for much of the final round, after an eagle on the second hole followed by two birdies on the front nine, but after a long putt for bogey on the 10th, he was reeled in by Fleetwood, who produced a stunning back nine to surge to victory.
Fleetwood made light of the windy conditions coming down the stretch, completed his final nine holes in 30 shots, and sealing the title with a magnificent 40-yard chip onto the 18th green, before calmly holing from four feet for a closing birdie. His winning total of 22 under par was just two shots shy of the tournament’s record low score of 24 under set by Martin Kaymer in 2011, and Fleetwood follows the German as the only other player to retain the title at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
Fleetwood said: “I just really wanted to win this one. I know everybody has been talking about it, and just backing it up is the next big thing, really. So to keep it going and defend, it’s a weird feeling coming back to try and retain a trophy, because it’s yours and you don’t want to give it away. So keeping a hold of it for another year is very nice.”
On the morning of the final day the leaderboard was incredibly tight, with 19 players at 11 under or better, making Fleetwood’s victory even more remarkable. With plenty of world-class golf being played, the iconic Falcon Trophy remained up for grabs late into the afternoon as a pack from the UK fought it out down the closing holes.
Rory McIlroy, back from a 100-day break from the game, was just two shots off the pace with 18 holes to play, but he fell just short despite a birdie finish, ending up in third place after shooting a closing 70 to finish four shots back on 18 under par alongside Matthew Fitzpatrick.
“I’m really happy with how I played,” said McIlroy. “It could have been a little bit better today, but overall this gives me confidence going into not only next week, but the months ahead, as well. My game is in really good shape and I saw some really, really positive signs. I have no complaints. My body held up really well. My game was probably better than I expected it to be, so I’m really happy with the week.”