ABU DHABI ALDAR GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

November 4, 2026

Aaron Rai

Yas Links

Press Conference

Q. Thanks so much for joining us. Returning to Abu Dhabi as the defending champion. What are your abiding memories of that victory?

AARON RAI: I think kind of being really pleased at just having the chance to play so well. My preparation was very different coming into the week. I had gotten married the Sunday before the tournament. I travelled here on Tuesday, which is something I very rarely do for any tournament.

So my expectations were extremely low coming into the week, and kind of surprised myself at how well I started playing golf the Thursday.

Firstly, to have a chance to win was incredible. Probably my abiding memories on the Sunday were just the up-and-down nature of the round, finishing off extremely strong. Felt very appreciative of getting into the playoff with Tommy. And then, yeah, played a great hole in the playoff. Yeah, that probably sticks out.

Q. You returned after a three-year absence in this tournament and previously when you had played you only managed 25th. Was the evidence of the win the fact that you had become much better as a player, or did you change something in the approach to the tournament?

AARON RAI: I think it was the first time I played Yas Links in this tournament. Previously I had played Abu Dhabi Golf Club, and I think this style suited me a little bit better compared to Abu Dhabi.

I think natural progression after two, three years of playing a little bit more in America, experiencing a few more different things definitely helped be a little bit more competitive in these events. Those were two main factors, style of course, and just a little bit more experience, really, over time.

Q. You've only played twice competitively in the last 11 weeks but you proved last year you don't need to play a lot. You came in last year off an eight-week break and won. Are you feeling similar this year that you're prepared and ready to go?

AARON RAI: I think I still find it quite challenging when I'm not playing a lot of events consistently. I don't quite know what's going to happen. But I feel like I've practiced pretty consistently over the last few weeks, and tried to kind of plan my time as well as I can away from tournaments in order to try and stay as sharp as I can.

To answer your question, I'm not sure. But hopefully I can get into the round tomorrow and see where that takes us.