World quantity 30 Rai led by one shot in a single day, however a rollercoaster closing day started with Fleetwood shifting out in entrance after opening with a birdie and hitting an eagle on the par-five second.
4 successive birdies on the entrance 9 moved Rai forward once more, just for a bogey on the eighth handy the initiative again to Fleetwood.
A number of gamers started to bunch up behind the leaders, together with McIlroy. The Northern Irishman eagled the par-five second but it surely was a run of 5 successive birdies on the flip that lifted him again into rivalry, with a birdie on the final shifting him to 24 below and the clubhouse lead.
In the meantime, birdies on the sixteenth and seventeenth drew Rai again stage with Fleetwood, who saved par with one other clutch putt on the second-last to make sure it stayed that approach heading to the 18th.
Rai spurned his first probability on the 18th inexperienced, however made no mistake on the identical gap within the play-off to safe his third DP World Tour Title.
It was his first win on the tour because the 2020 Scottish Open, when he also beat Fleetwood in a play-off.
The Abu Dhabi Championship is the primary of two DP World Tour end-of-season play-off occasions, with the highest 70 gamers competing this week and the main 50 advancing to subsequent week’s finale in Dubai.
Rai started the match fifty fifth within the standings, however this victory means he’ll go into subsequent week’s occasion ranked ninth.
McIlroy, who is 2 behind Colin Montgomerie’s report of eight years because the tour’s primary, leads the Race to Dubai standings by 767 factors from Marco Penge, the Englishman who has gained 3 times on tour this yr.
Penge carded a final-round nine-under 63 to complete tied for ninth on 20 below alongside Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and Angel Ayora of Spain.
