Winner
Jon Rahm won the Abu Dhabi Championship by two shots, finishing on 23 under par. It was his ninth DP World Tour win.
Rahm began in the top five after round 1, then he moved into a share of the lead after round 2. He took the lead outright after round 3, and he went into the final round with a lead of one shot. He closed with a final-round 67.
Approach did most of the work for Rahm, adding 7.6 strokes. Putting added 6.1 strokes. Off the tee added 1.3 strokes, and around the green added 1.1 strokes.
| Price | |
|---|---|
| Pre-event price | 20 |
| High in-running price | 23 |
Traded below 2.0 in running
No other player traded below 2.0 in running.
Profile vs Reality
Profile vs Reality puts Course Fit to the test. Course Fit ranks each week's field by how closely each player's game over the last 12 months matches what the course rewards beyond the tour norm. Below are its key metrics for Yas Links, with where Jon Rahm ranked on each this week: the higher his ranks, the more the week bore out Course Fit's profile of the course.
See this week's Course Fit table for the DP World Tour
| Key metric | Priority | Winner's rank | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scrambling | HIGH | 15 | match |
| Driving accuracy | MEDIUM | 4 | perfect match |
| Putting | MEDIUM | 6 | match |
| Around the green | MEDIUM | 31 | neutral |
Key metrics: what Course Fit says this venue rewards beyond the tour norm, largest weight first. Priority: the weight against every venue's (CRITICAL for the top tenth). Verdict: perfect match (top 5), match (top quarter), neutral (top half), anomaly (bottom half).
The week largely fitted what the venue rewards. Scrambling, the HIGH metric, was a match, with Rahm ranking joint 15th for it, though Adam Scott, who led the field for scrambling, finished joint 9th. Driving accuracy was a perfect match, with Rahm ranking joint 4th, while Aaron Rai, who led the field for it, finished joint 25th. Putting also matched at 6th. Around the green was neutral at 31st. There were no anomalies among the key metrics. Round 1 had no separate morning and afternoon waves, so there is no wave split to report for the first-round leader market and no comparison with previous stagings.
Lessons for next year
This staging adds to the evidence that scrambling and driving accuracy are worth weighing at this venue, as the winner ranked well in both. It also suggests that a strong putting week helps. The players who led the field in those skills finished outside the places, so leading a skill proved no guarantee of a win. With no wave split this year, the first-round leader market gains nothing new.
Progress / Regress targets
A Progress target ranked much higher this week from tee to green or on approach than he finished, but much lower for putting, although over the last 12 months he has been one of the better putters in this field. His finish undersold his long game, and he may do better once his putting returns to its usual level.
A Regress target is the reverse: a weaker putter whose putting this week lifted him well above what his long game earned, so his finish may have flattered him.
Each figure is a rank in this week's field, except the last column: his putting rank over the previous 12 months.
| Target | Player | Finish | SG: T2G | SG: Approach | SG: Putting | Putting, last 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regress | Grant Forrest | 46 | 68 | 66 | 3 | 28 |
| Regress | Tom Vaillant | 51 | 66 | 70 | 24 | 24 |
| Regress | Martin Couvra | 46 | 58 | 68 | 23 | 50 |
Progress: SG: Tee to Green or SG: Approach rank at least 18 places better than his finish, SG: Putting at least 18 places worse, and in the field's top quarter for putting over the previous 12 months. Regress: the reverse, and outside that top quarter. Putting, last 12 months: his rank among the 70 in the field for strokes gained putting over the year before the event, as the CC: SG table ranks it.