Tommy Fleetwood accused of gamesmanship after what he did before playoff against Aaron Rai in Abu Dhabi

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Tommy Fleetwood made up the one-shot deficit on Aaron Rai during the final round of the Abu Dhabi Championship on Sunday.

Fleetwood‘s final round 66 was enough to force a playoff with Rai at the Abu Dhabi Championship.

After Saturday’s round, Fleetwood absolutely raved about Rai’s golfing ability, labeling his fellow Englishman as ‘unbelievable’.

And in fairness to Rai, he put in a top-class performance at Yas Links this week.

Fleetwood’s game has been in tip-top condition in Abu Dhabi as well, and he has now firmly established himself as one of the three best golfers in the world.

He is one of the most likeable characters in the game; that statement is indisputable.

However, the Englishman’s actions after he finished on the 18th in regulation play raised some eyebrows.

What Tommy Fleetwood did before playoff against Aaron Rai in Abu Dhabi

Fleetwood is one of the most popular players in the game right now.

However, just before he began the playoff against Rai in Abu Dhabi, the Englishman was on the wrong end of some stinging criticism.

When commentating for Sky Sports in the UK, former DP World Tour player Andrew Coltart criticized Fleetwood for making Rai wait on the 18th tee ahead of the sudden-death playoff.

He said: “This is what I don’t like. To me, they’ve both got to arrive at the tee at the same time.

“I don’t like that. That gives the person who arrives on the tee last an advantage.“

Coltart’s co-commentator David Howell said: “I know what you mean, the right thing to do would be to arrive together.“

Then Wayne Riley weighed in with his opinion on the matter.

He said: “Tommy is just slowing it all down, a little gamesmanship, clever. Making him wait, stew.”

Fleetwood gained no advantage in the Abu Dhabi Championship playoff

Justin Rose did the same to Rory McIlroy at the Masters back in April, and the Northern Irishman ended up winning, just like Rai did in Abu Dhabi.

So perhaps there is actually no advantage gained by arriving on the tee last!

Also, you never know what actually happened behind the scenes.

There are a whole multitude of things that could have delayed Fleetwood’s arrival on the 18th tee, including a really simple explanation like he may have needed a bathroom visit!

Fleetwood is one of the nicest, most down-to-earth people in professional golf, and there is absolutely no way he would have purposely made Rai wait unnecessarily.

Rai beat Fleetwood to the Abu Dhabi Championship in the end, and the European Ryder Cup star accepted defeat with dignity as he always does.

Ask Rai about his fellow Englishman, and he will only have nice things to say about him.