Tommy Fleetwood came into the Abu Dhabi Championship trying to gain an upper hand. And displaying some incredible golfing skills in the final round, Fleetwood made up the one-shot deficit with a final round 66 to force a playoff tussle with Aaron Rai. As the battle between the two had the fans utterly excited, there was a weird turn of events that had Fleetwood getting accused of gamesmanship. While the game went to the sudden-death playoff, Rai could be spotted waiting on the 18th tee with Fleetwood nowhere to be seen. 

Immediately, Sky Sports commentator and ex-DP World Tour star Andrew Coltart began to criticize Fleetwood. He pointed out that both players were supposed to be present at the tee at the same time. Coltart stated, “I don’t like that. That gives the person who arrives on the tee last an advantage.”

Adding further fuel to the fire was his co-commentator, David Howell, who stated that the “right thing” to do for the duo was to arrive at the tee together. With the criticisms mounting, Wayne Riley, too, joined in and accused Fleetwood of slowing down things, citing his actions as part of ‘gamesmanship.’ 

Surely, these were quite unusual claims coming against someone who is not known to get involved in a lot of controversies. Thus, as time went by, the speculations as to why exactly Fleetwood was late at the tee began to rise. Thankfully, clearing the air, Daily Telegraph journalist, James Corrigan wrote on X, “he went to the loo and was then stopped by a fan!!” Well, this surely settles the ‘gamesmanship’ accusations put on Fleetwood. 

Now, coming to the details of the game, although it was Rai who won, the 34-year-old impressed the crowd significantly. He displayed improved putting, which has prompted several golf pundits to hype him up to win a major in 2026.

As the Tour Championship winner would like to take his game up by a notch, Fleetwood was all praises for his competitor. In fact, he was so impressed with the performance of his fellow countryman that he called it “unbelievable.” Meanwhile, further putting the rumors to bed, Aaron Rai heaped praises on Tommy Fleetwood’s character. 

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Aaron Rai praises Tommy Fleetwood after playoff victory at Yas Link

Sinking a seven-foot birdie putt at the first play-off hole, Rai grabbed the win against Fleetwood at the Yas Links golf course. While Fleetwood tried to maintain his rising career graph, he finished the round with a par, allowing Aaron Rai to secure the top prize of $1.53 million.

Emerging triumphant against the 34-year-old golfer, Rai reflected on the championship and stated, “It’s hard to sum up. I was so focused, just tried to stay in the zone.” Furthermore, he shared how his experience was playing against Fleetwood as his rival. “Just amazing to be standing here. Obviously Tommy is a phenomenal player and he’s an even better person than he is a player, and that says a lot.”

While debacles were rising surrounding Fleetwood’s late arrival to the tee, his opponent had a different take to share. “To play with him the last two days, and to be able to be in a play-off with him was really special as well”, added Rai.