ABU DHABI // Tommy Fleetwood celebrated the second European Tour title of his career as his lifted the Falcon Trophy after winning the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The 26-year-old Englishman climbed ahead of a packed field of contenders after shooting 31 over the back nine of the last round, on a storied final afternoon at the National Course.
7 An Byeong-hun was tied for second, on the charge with three birdies in the previous five holes when he arrived at the par-3 12th. Then he dunked his tee shot in the water. And his next shot, from the drop zone, too. He left with a quadruple-bogey seven, and his hopes ruined.
9 A bogey at the 177-yard 15th was a rare blemish on the card of Pablo Larrazabal. Across the four rounds, the Spaniard played the par-3s in a combined total of nine-under-par. That was a healthy contribution to the 2014 winner's eventual tally of 16-under and a tie for second.
21 A full 21 players started the final round within four strokes of then leader Tyrrell Hatton – a tournament record. The bunched field did not exactly thin out massively thereafter, either. There were 10 players within four shots of the champion Fleetwood's eventual tally of 17-under.
33.45 There were just 33 hours and 45 minutes between Dean Burmester landing in Abu Dhabi, at 3am on Wednesday, and him teeing off at 12.45pm on Thursday. The South African only secured a visa for travel on Tuesday, having qualified via a fourth-place finish at the South African Open last week. Yet he still finished seventh in Abu Dhabi.
53 The National Course bared its teeth in Round 4, thanks mainly to a blustery wind. The players shot a combined total of 31-over par for the front nine. At least the 18th let its guard down. There were no bogeys, and just 25 pars, as the 73 players played the hole in an aggregate of 53-under for the day.
1,247 The number of days between Fleetwood's first and second wins on the European Tour. Or, put another way, three and a half years between claiming the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and the Falcon Trophy in Abu Dhabi.
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Also from Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
■ Fleetwood: Englishman 'proud' of clinching title on sixth attempt
■ Johnson: American wants to come back and win title next year
■ Stenson: Swede pleased even as title eludes him for 12th time
■ Gallery: Relive final-round action at National Course on Sunday
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