Waring sets course record to take huge lead in Abu Dhabi

Gulf Today, Sports Reporter

Paul Waring carded a course-record 61 at Yas Links to open up a five-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at the Yas Links on Friday.

The Englishman recorded the lowest score of his DP World Tour career to get to 19 under and set the record for lowest 36 hole score to par in Tour history, opening up a comfortable lead over first round leader Tommy Fleetwood, American Johannes Veerman and Danish pair Thorbjorn Olesen and Niklas Norgaard.

The No. 229-ranked Englishman hit a draw with a 3-wood from about 265 yards to inside four feet at No. 18 and tapped in the birdie putt to move to 19-under par for the tournament.

Waring, who opened with a 64 on Thursday, made nine birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round at Yas Links and set a course record.
“I’ve got a nice lead at the moment but even before I tee off tomorrow, someone might have caught me,” said the 39-year-old Waring, whose sole win came at the Nordea Masters in 2018.

“While I’m in the lead at the moment, and if we are rational about this, everyone is still going to fire a lot of birdies in there.

“So if I’m going to be involved on Sunday afternoon, I’ve still got to keep going the way I am and I know that.”

First-round leader Fleetwood of England (68), Johannes Veerman of the United States (67) and Danish players Niklas Norgaard (65) and Thorbjorn Olesen (67) were tied for second place on 14 under.

“The round went pretty well. Sure, there are low scores out there, but if you stay patient, you never know—4-under might not even end up as the worst score of the week. It’s never going to be a bad round, but with so many scores possible, I can’t be disappointed with where I’m at right now,” said Fleetwood.
“This is an amazing time of year with two great events to close the season. Over the years, I’ve experienced both ends of the spectrum at this time.

“There have been years where I was just getting through, not playing my best. But I’ve also had years where I’ve played really well and felt excited about the opportunities ahead as the year wraps up,” he added.

Veerman added a 67 to his first round 63 to get to 14 under from the first group of the day with Norgaard joining him after firing seven birdies in his bogey-free 65.

Fleetwood joined the leaders with his 68 before Waring surged ahead. Olesen then added his second eagle of the day at the last to join the chasing pack.

“I got a couple of tough breaks out there, which I probably earned, honestly. But it felt great to birdie 16 and then finish with an eagle on 18. A fantastic way to wrap up the round,” said Olesen.

“These are two of the biggest weeks of the year—great tournaments. Playing in the Middle East is always special, and these two events are huge. Everyone wants to finish strong here, and it’s exciting.

There were a few tricky pin placements, but the conditions are still pretty soft, and the greens are incredibly smooth, so you’ll see a lot of putts dropping. But if the wind picks up even a little, this course becomes a different challenge altogether. It can get tricky,” he added.

Frenchman Ugo Coussaud and English trio Laurie Canter, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Wallace are two shots further back at 12 under par, with Swede Sebastian Soderberg, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, Francesco Laporta of Italy and South African Thriston Lawrence at 11 under.

Rory McIlroy hit his tee shot into a greenside bunker at the par-3 17th and made a triple bogey on the way to a second successive 67, leaving him nine strokes off the lead.

McIlroy, who can clinch a sixth Race to Dubai title with a win this week, was 7 under after 13 holes of his second round and feels he’ll need to produce something similar to reel in Waring and his closest chasers.

“I need the golf course to firm up a little bit and toughen up a little bit to have a chance,” McIlroy said. “There’s so many gettable holes out there.”