While the world's best golfers lurk on the leaderboard, Paul Waring, ranked 229th in the world, won in Abu Dhabi.
He shot a 6-under 66 on Sunday, finishing with a total of 24 under, two strokes behind compatriot Tyrrell Hatton. Rory McIlroy, Matt Wallace and Thorbjorn Olesen finished with 21 under. But the British fighter described the final round as “a really easy day”, despite many celebrities trying to knock him off the top.
Walling added after the win, “I'm really proud of myself for being able to control myself the way I did today.”
After 36 holes, Waring sits at the top of the leaderboard at 19 under, setting a new record for DP World Tour scores at the halfway point. He held a five-stroke lead on Friday, but by the end of the third round on Saturday, he had narrowed the lead to one stroke and shot a 1-over 73. The pressure of playing in such a prestigious event on the DP World Tour, plus trying to fend off a star-studded field, clearly took a toll on him.
But that pressure eased Sunday, especially in the second half, when he made birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to seal the deal. His par breaker was the penultimate hole, a 204 yard par 3. It came with a 40 foot bomb.. This broke a tie with Hatton, who shot an 8-under 64 on Sunday to finish at 22 under.
“It's my second win. I've been knocking on the door a few times. I had seconds. I've been in and out a few times. It's great to cross the line again and especially today It's also great that we were able to control the way we did it. I thought I might have made a gaffe yesterday,” Waring said.
“But to keep the lead [on Saturday with] I knew the way I played, I wouldn't be able to play the same way two days in a row. And today I felt it all the time. I felt like I needed one more piece of gear. I was hitting the ball right in the middle of one of the many greens. Don't take on too many things. ”
He played under control, recording six birdies and zero bogeys.
Even better, Waring's win moves him into fifth place in the Race to Dubai standings. He moved up 43 spots and appears destined to earn one of the 10 PGA Tour cards. Players who finish in the top 10 in the Race to Dubai rankings will earn PGA Tour membership for the following season unless otherwise excluded.
“It's going to be a long journey to the U.S., a long commute,” Walling said.
“But I'm looking forward to it. It's a new challenge. I don't know if it's going to happen or not. We're definitely going to make up.”
With the win, the 39-year-old also qualified for next year's British Open Championship at Royal Portrush. His last major start was the 2021 Open at Royal St. George's, where he missed the cut. However, he did play in Portrush the last time golf's oldest major was held over the weekend in 2019. Waring was tied for 63rd place that week.
Nevertheless, Walling can't believe he got the job done on Sunday, a huge boost to his long and sometimes difficult career.
“It just hasn't sunk in yet,” Walling said.
“I still feel like I should do something else or play another hole or something, because I never feel like I’m over the line at any point. Even while I was playing, I always knew there was something to do and something to do. So it just hasn't really clicked yet.”
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
