The Race to Dubai champion defied the blustery conditions to knock in six birdies from the 10th and come home in just 30 strokes to snatch the victory by two shots from Ross Fisher.

Fisher had earlier taken command of the final round at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club when he went four clear after seven holes, but he was overtaken in the closing stages after the birdie barrage from his fellow Englishman.

Fleetwood's storming finish gave him a seven-under 65 for a 22-under total of 266, while Fisher signed for a three-under 69.

Rory McIlroy completed an encouraging comeback week by claiming a share of third place with England's Matt Fitzpatrick on 18 under.

Fleetwood, who celebrated his 27th birthday on Friday, started the day two behind joint-leaders Fisher and Thomas Pieters and made a solid start with back-to-back birdies at the second and third.

Fisher was playing some superb golf behind him, though, and he rolled in a 50-foot putt for an eagle at the second before adding birdies at the fourth and seventh.

Fleetwood dropped his only shot of the day at the sixth and that gave Fisher some clear daylight at the top of the leaderboard heading to the turn.

The par-five 10th hole proved to be a turning point for both players as Fleetwood posted a birdie and Fisher dropped his first shot of the day following a wayward tee shot.

That was the start of Fleetwood's charge as he added back-to-back birdies at the 12th and 13th and, after just missing out at the 14th, he rolled in monster putts for further gains at the 15th and 16th which elevated him into the lead.

Fleetwood's advantage became two shots when Fisher bogeyed the par-three 15th after leaving his tee shot short of the green, although he recovered with a birdie at 16.

There was another birdie near-miss for Fleetwood at the 17th and he had the title in the bag - becoming the second player to retain the crown after Martin Kaymer in 2011 - when he birdied the par-five 18th following a superb chip from the greenside rough.

Sky Bet's odds, Tommy Fleetwood

The Masters - 40/1
The US Open - 50/1
The Open - 33/1
The USPGA - 66/1

McIlroy, who returned to competitive golf after a 104-day absence this week, was just one shot off the lead after the third round, but he never quite found top gear in the final round as he mixed four birdies with two bogeys in his 70.

Fitzpatrick saved his best golf for last as he birdied the final three holes to finish alongside McIlroy in third after a 69.

Belgian Pieters had to settle for a share of fifth place on 17 under - with last week's SA Open winner Chris Paisley (69) - after back-to-back bogeys at the fifth and sixth and a double-bogey at the 11th in a level-par 72 ended his victory hopes.

France's Alexander Levy (68) came seventh on 16 under, one ahead of Henrik Stenson of Sweden, who matched Fleetwood's closing 65.

World No 1 Dustin Johnson (70), English duo Paul Casey (70) and Andrew Johnston (72), Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay (70) and Belgium's Thomas Detry (72) tied for ninth place on 14 under.

Third round report

Rory McIlroy moved to within a shot of the lead after three rounds of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and is 9/4 favourite with Sky Bet.

Playing in his first event since October, the four-time major champion continued his day-to-day scoring improvement with a round of 65, following on from Thursday's 69 and Friday's 66.

Ross Fisher joined Thomas Pieters at the top of the leaderboard on 17-under after his own round of 65, but McIlroy is just one behind as he seeks his first victory in an event which has seen him finish runner-up on three separate occasions.

McIlroy made a steady start to round three, but two birdies in the first six holes saw him lose ground on overnight leader Pieters who, like so many, took full advantage of easy scoring conditions with three.

Stepping up a gear with two sublime shots into the heart of the eighth green, McIlroy made four birdies over the next seven holes before his first bogey of the tournament, one which could have been worse as he holed from off the green having taken two to get out of a bunker at the 15th.

A chip-in birdie at the 17th followed by a birdie at the last saw McIlroy make his move just as the leaders began to lose momentum.

That's a Rory Roar! 🔊@McIlroyRory chips in for birdie at 17#ADGolfChamps pic.twitter.com/ZWYyr7jk4I
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 20, 2018

"I said all week, I felt like this is where my game was in practice, but it's always different trying to go from the range on to the golf course, and even in practice rounds," said McIlroy. "I felt like I was playing well but it's still different whenever you get a card in your hand and you're in competitive play.

"It would mean a lot to win. I've had a lot of close calls here, I think about six top threes or something like that.

"It's felt like a while since I've won. I gave myself a chance at the end of the year at Close House and wasn't able to do it.

"I'm excited to get back on the horse and give myself another chance tomorrow."

Pieters remained bogey-free after a par save at the final hole, where his tee shot had come to rest next to a bush before an approach which came up short of the green.

That allowed Fisher to join him with a closing birdie, although it's McIlroy who heads the market at 9/4 with Fisher and Pieters both 4/1.

English duo Matthew Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood are within striking distance on 15-under, two behind, the former having come up just one shot shy of matching the course record as he made 10 birdies in a best-of-the-week 63.

"You're always thinking, 59, you really are," admitted Fitzpatrick. "It's difficult not to. Even though I wasn't playing great, I knew how well I was putting and I felt if I could just give myself those chances on the greens, I could make the putts, basically."

Fleetwood had to demonstrate patience as a series of mid-range opportunities slid by, but birdies at the 15th and 18th saw him maintain hopes of a successful title defence.

Ross Fisher: Shares the lead

Second round report

Rory McIlroy saved the best until last to surge into contention for his first win since September 2016 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

McIlroy carded four birdies and an eagle from 25 feet on the 18th in a second round of 66 to reach nine under par, three shots behind Ryder Cup partner Thomas Pieters.

Leader Pieters had earlier holed out from a bunker on the ninth - his final hole - for one of his seven birdies in a bogey-free 65, with Spain's Jorge Campillo his nearest challenger after going one better with a 64.

Defending champion Tommy Fleetwood sat two shots off the pace alongside Ross Fisher and Alexander Levy after celebrating his 27th birthday with a 68, while playing partner and world number one Dustin Johnson featured two strokes further back after a brilliant 64.

Rory McIlroy tops Sky Bet's in-play betting heading into the weekend at 9/2, closely followed by Dustin Johnson and Thomas Pieters at 11/2, with Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Casey further back at 7/1 and 10/1 respectively.

Playing his first event since calling an early end to his injury-plagued and winless season in October last year, McIlroy has yet to drop a single shot at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, where he has four second-place finishes, two thirds and a fifth in his last eight starts.

"I felt like I gave myself tons of chances on the back nine and it was sort of difficult to convert them," McIlroy said.

"But I stayed patient and feel like I got what I deserved on the last for staying so patient and it was nice to finish with a three, leapfrog a few guys and get myself into contention for the weekend.

"It's massive. Five shots to make up over the weekend is quite a lot, especially with a bunched leaderboard, so to cut that deficit to three, I feel so much closer to the lead.

"I hit the ball very well. I drove it well. I hit most of my iron shots very well. I gave myself plenty of chances, and that's what I'm going to have to do over the next couple of days, as well, if I want to try and win this tournament."

Thomas Pieters in action

Pieters, who won a record four points and all three of his matches alongside McIlroy on his Ryder Cup debut at Hazeltine, told Sky Sports: "We have a decent game plan. I've done well here in the past (fourth in 2015 and second in 2016) and it suits me. We hit driver wherever we can and the rest of it is good ball-striking and going at a couple flags with wedges when you have them."

Two-time winner Paul Casey, Bernd Wiesberger and Sam Brazel finished the day alongside McIlroy on nine under par, while Justin Rose - who has recorded 10 straight top-10 finishes - birdied the last to make the cut on the mark of two under.

Made up for a rough start yesterday and looking forward to a good weekend. @ADGolfChamps pic.twitter.com/k2nfoiHHXs
— Dustin Johnson (@DJohnsonPGA) January 19, 2018

"I know this course very well," Casey said. "It seems like I've got good memories of every hole so it's about drawing from those past experiences.

"I suppose ultimately it means nothing in the grand scheme of things because you can't control what other guys do, but the biggest motivation is that (Martin) Kaymer has won here three times and I've got two. I see him in Arizona all the time and he doesn't let me forget it!"

Tommy Fleetwood celebrates his birthday on Thursday

First round report

Patience paid dividends for Rory McIlroy as he enjoyed a highly promising competitive comeback in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, where defending champion Tommy Fleetwood shared the lead after day one.

McIlroy has a remarkable record in Abu Dhabi, with four second-place finishes, two thirds and a fifth in his last eight starts, but missed last year's event with the rib injury which disrupted his entire season.

The four-time major winner called an early end to his winless campaign, just the second of his professional career, in October, but reaped the rewards of some hard work over the winter with an opening three-under-par 69.

Playing partner and European number one Fleetwood carded a flawless 66 to share the lead with Japan's Hideto Tanihara, with the final member of the marquee group, world number one Dustin Johnson, struggling to a 72.

Starting from the 10th at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, McIlroy opened with 11 straight pars and could be forgiven for growing increasingly frustrated, especially after three-putting the par-five 18th for par.

However, the 28-year-old finally got into red figures by holing from 12 feet on the third and followed that with a tap-in birdie on the par-three seventh and another gain on the par-five eighth.

"I was excited to get going," McIlroy told Sky Sports. "The last couple of months have been really nice in terms of being able to concentrate on things I needed to work on in my game and health-wise. I feel like I'm nearly the most prepared for a season that I've ever been, but it was nice to get back out there and it was a great pairing to start off with.

"Tommy played very well and I was just trying to hang onto his coat-tails for most of the round, so really pleased; bogey-free 69 I can't really complain.

"I started off with 11 pars and it could have been a lot better than that so I tried to stay as patient as possible. When it's the first day back it's easier to stay patient so I was just trying my best and trying to hit a good shot every time I could, trying to hit good putts even if they weren't going in.

"I was proud of myself the way I hung in there. "

Fleetwood, whose victory 12 months ago set him on the way to winning the Race to Dubai, carded six birdies and hit all 18 greens in regulation, while Johnson mixed four birdies with four bogeys in an inconsistent display.

"(It was) Very stress-free," Fleetwood said. "I played really well from start to finish and felt I did what you need to do round this golf course, which is drive it well. You can't be too greedy a lot of the time and my pace putting was really good.

"Just a really good ball-striking round and nice to start the year off like that."

Fleetwood was joined at the top of the leaderboard late in the day by Tanihara, with Ross Fisher, Thomas Pieters, Sam Brazel, Fabrizio Zanotti and Bernd Wiesberger all on five under.

Scotland's Richie Ramsay and Stephen Gallacher were part of a large group on four under which also included Matt Fitzpatrick and Andrew Johnston.

Collated Scores

Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 72
(a) denotes amateurs

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