Staff WriterThe Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is serving up proper theatre again, and the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship leaderboard now has two English flags on top.
Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai are tied at 14-under at the halfway mark, two clear of the chase pack after a day that started briskly and ended with a roar.
Fleetwood opens with a three-birdie blitz
Fleetwood, a two-time winner here (2017, 2018), looked like a man late for his tee time—three straight birdies out of the gate and off he went. The Ryder Cup star carded a 66 with seven birdies, the lone blemish a tug on the 15th.
For a player christened “reigning FedExCup champion” in dispatches this week, it was the sort of tidy, relentless scoring that wins Rolex Series cheques and makes Sundays interesting.
Tommy Fleetwood: “Really good day. I got off to like the perfect start. Birdie, birdie, birdie. That was good, especially when you’ve had a good round the day before. They always say it’s hard to follow up a good round with another good one, or a low one with another one.
Starting good was really important. I just did a really good job – I hit a lot of good shots but a few times today where I drove it into the rough and we read the lies really well. I felt like we did a great job of controlling the ball out of the rough, and that was really pleasing. I feel like I putted solid again. 6-under was a very good score.
I feel, obviously, good about my game and I’m doing so many things well. But I’m also very aware of what the game can do to you as well. I’ll just stay very focused on each day. I’m having a lot of good rounds but I’m not stupid, and it’s bitten me enough times. I’ll enjoy these good ones but stay focused and continue to do the right things and keep it going as long as possible.
I’m two rounds in now this week, and hopefully I can put another good round in tomorrow and compete on Sunday and same goes for next week, as well. Yeah, preparing well, trying to play well, trying to compete all the way up till the very last day of the season, and then we can switch off and take a break after that.”
That’s Fleetwood in a nutshell: cheerful as a seaside pro, ruthless as a tax return.
Rai’s rare bird: an albatross at the second
If Fleetwood’s start was fast, Aaron Rai’s was ridiculous. The World No. 30 stitched together a spotless 64 that included five birdies and—look away, mortals—an albatross at the par-five second.
From 218 yards with a six-iron, he found the front edge and watched it scamper home. That’s the “rarest of birds,” and yes, it looked every bit as outrageous as it sounds.
He kept the foot down with a 30-footer at six, more at seven and eleven, and then closed like a locksmith—26 feet at 17, sensible birdie on the par-five 18th. It was the kind of round that makes Yas Links look domesticated… briefly.
Aaron Rai: “It was really good. Struck it really well tee-to-green. Had a lot of chances. Just felt very stress-free overall. Yeah, it was just a very solid, productive day.
I think we had about 185 yards to the front (on the second hole). The wind was a little bit down off the left and that green was so fast, it slopes front-to-back, pitching a few yards on to the green, actually caught it a little bit clean off the face, the line was great.
Finished around the front edge and chased its way down there. You couldn’t see it from the back of the fairway, so it was a nice surprise.
Any time you hit close to 18 greens, you’ve had a good day out there, let alone 18. The course is in incredible condition. If you hit a lot of fairways, it certainly gives you control.
The green complexes are fantastic out here, as well, with being able to use the slopes, change your flights, change your shapes. It’s a pleasure being out here and nice to play well, as well.”
Two gloves, zero fuss, and one albatross—Rai just made a very firm statement about his weekend intentions at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The chase: quality stacked two and three back
There’s nothing cosy about this lead. Andy Sullivan, Nicolai Højgaard and Richard Sterne are two adrift at 12-under, with 2019 champion Shane Lowry lurking another shot back.
If you’ve watched this event long enough, you know Yas Links saves a few cross-winds and awkward bounces for Saturday afternoon. Leaders sleep light here.
What to watch out for this weekend
- Start lines and spin control. If the breeze freshens, controlling trajectories into Yas Links’ firm sections will separate contenders from pretenders.
- Par-5 scoring. Rai’s albatross set the tone—these are the scoring holes, and the winner usually cashes in.
- Putting under pressure. Fleetwood’s pace putting has travelled. If that holds, he’s the man to beat.
The stage is set. Two Englishmen at -14, the cavalry on -12 and -11, and the weekend weather sharpening its teeth.
The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship rarely tiptoes to a finish—expect a proper scrap.
