30-year-old Indian-origin English national Aaron Rai , already a superstar on the PGA Tour, scored a brilliant playoff victory over Tommy Fleetwood at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on the European Tour. A PGA Tour winner who recently married Indian lady pro golfer from Gurgaon, Gaurika Bishnoi, Rai is heading to the top 20 in the world rankings, which, if maintained, gets him closer to automatic qualification for Europe’s 2027 Ryder Cup team.
RELATED: Aaron Rai wins PGA TOUR title
Rai started the week 55th in the Race to Dubai European rankings and needed a good result just to qualify for the season ending DP World Tour Championship this week. Four rounds of 66-64-66-67 later, he was holding his second Rolex Series trophy and had surged to ninth in the standings — and he believes he has a realistic chance of winning the Tour Championship as well.
The moment Aaron Rai beat Tommy Fleetwood in the first play-off hole to claim his second Rolex Series win #ADGolfChamps | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/XVA1Wt9IqC
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 9, 2025
His final round summed up his growing reputation under pressure. A missed three-foot par putt on the 14th could have derailed him, but he saved par at 15, then reeled off birdies at 16 and 17 to tie Fleetwood at 25-under. In the playoff, Rai calmly knocked in his birdie while Fleetwood’s chance slid by. Rory Mcilroy was lurking one stroke further back, one shot out of the playoff after a final round 62.
It was a familiar script: Rai also beat Fleetwood in a playoff at the 2020 Scottish Open, giving him a 2–0 record against the Ryder Cup star in extra holes. By staying active in Europe with one eye firmly on Ryder Cup 2027, Rai is turning big weeks like Abu Dhabi into part of a longer, very deliberate plan.
Photo – DPWT
