Remarkably Waring Matches Tour 54-Hole Low Despite Forfeiting Five Shot Abu Dhabi HSBC Lead

1 month ago by Comments Off on Remarkably Waring Matches Tour 54-Hole Low Despite Forfeiting Five Shot Abu Dhabi HSBC Lead

Remarkably, England’s Paul Waring has matched a DP World Tour ‘Low 1st 54-hole’ low of 18-under-par despite forfeiting a five-shot overnight to now lead by one heading into the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links.

Waring, 39 had second a new course record thanks to his 11-under par 61 on day two of the $9m event and with his 19-under par total also setting a new Tour ‘Low 1st 36 hole’ record in the 72-year history of the Tour.

However we all know the fickle nature of the game as that five-shot leading cushtion has been cut to just one following just one birdie in his lacklustre one-over 73 to remain at 18-under on the Yas Links layout.

And remarkably 18-under in the Tour 54-hole ‘Low 1st’ record set by Sweden’s Robert Karlsson at the 2006 Celtic Manor Open in Wales.

 

Waring is now just a shot clear of Dane Niklas Norgaard (69) and with the heavyweight four players at 15-under including the duo of  Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry.

Indeed there is 12 players within four shots of the lead and a shot further back on 13-under is four-time major winning  Rory McIlroy, who despite a horror double-bogey finish cannot be rules out.

Though Waring remains the player to beat and he looked in a relaxed mood walking hand-in-hand with his wife to the scorer’s hut.

“I could have really moved forward today and put myself out of sight, but in four rounds of golf you are always going to have an iffy round.

“If at the beginning of the week you had given me a one-shot lead going into the final day, I would have snapped your hand off.”

And though Waring’s lead is down to just one shot he still remains the player to beat as he seeks not only just a second DP World Tour title but he’s been projected to move to 7th on the Race to Dubai and only one tournament away from securing a 2025 PGA Tour card

“Yeah, looking forward to not sleeping now tonight. Thanks, Tim”, he said to SKY’s popular Tim Barter.

“No, it’s one of them, it’s a game of golf tomorrow, isn’t it. Game of golf in the sunshine. I’ll be playing with Niklas again, great lad, good friend of mine. Looking forward to the challenge of it now.

“Like I say, I feel like my bad golf is out of the way now and I can sort of try and free wheel as much as I can tomorrow and add them all up tomorrow afternoon and see where we all lie”.

Well said, Paul and all the best tomorrow.



Comments are closed.