In the end, Richard Sterne’s closing three-under-par 69 on Sunday was not enough to get him into the DP World Tour Championship, but it did see him finish in a share of 12th in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Two bogeys on the back nine slowed his progress after he had turned in two-under with birdies on two and nine. The first of his drops came immediately after the turn on 10, and the second came on the 13th.
In between those two drops, he birdied the 11th, and then picked up two more shots with birdies on 15 and 16. It was a day on which low scores were to be had, however, and, as solid as Sterne was, he finished on 19-under-par for the week, six strokes out of the play-off between Aaron Rai and Tommy Fleetwood.
The battle between the Englishmen was decided when the ultra-consistent Rai birdied the first play-off hole to hold off Fleetwood. Rai punched his ticket to next week’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship with victory. He began the week 55th on the season-long standings, having not teed it up since finishing in a tie for third at the BMW PGA Championship in September.
Knowing he needed to break into the top 50 to extend his season, Rai produced his best golf when it mattered.
Behind the two who finished on 25-under, there was more brilliant golf, notably by Rory McIlroy, who had a closing 10-under-par 62 to finish in a share of third with Nicolai Hojgaard. It was a frustrating final round for the newest Grand Slam champion, as he missed some putts he would have believed he could have made and missed out on the opportunity to join the play-off or even set a better mark than 25-under.
Richard Mansell and Marco Penge of England and Spain’s Angel Ayora all carded closing nine-under 63s, which showed just how many shots there were to be had out there in the final round.
In the end, however, Sterne’s season – certainly the latter part of it – will be the source of great satisfaction as he will rise to 57th on the Race to Dubai, ensuring a return to top-flight golf for the 2026 season, which he will be able to kick off with an appearance in the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the Alfred Dunhill Championship back home in South Africa.
Dylan Naidoo will also miss out on the Tour Championship next week after he closed with a one-over 73 for a share of 62nd in the 72-man field.
Jayden Schaper, Thriston Lawrence, Shaun Norris and Jacques Kruyswijk will all be playing next week. Schper showed the value of consistency – through the season as well as in the tournament – with a share of 23rd seeing him finish 27th on the Race to Dubai. Norris finished 31st on the rankings with his 61st place, Lawrence is 25th on the rankings after his share of 62nd in Abu Dhabi, and Kruyswijk is 32nd on the Dace to Dubai after finishing 70th in the tournament.
