Paul Waring unleashed a record-breaking round at Yas Links, posting an impressive 61 to secure a commanding five-shot lead midway through the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
His scintillating performance saw the Englishman reach 19 under par, setting a new 36-hole DP World Tour record.
Waring, in the groove from the start, notched eight birdies across 17 holes, with the highlight being a thrilling eagle from the sixth.
However, he saved his best for last: after a misfired drive left him with an embedded lie on 18, he took a free drop, hacked his second shot back to the fairway, and then launched a flawless 250-yard fairway wood to just four feet from the pin, setting up a smooth birdie putt.
Paul Waring: Well that was the best shot I’ve ever hit in my life to be honest (3-wood at 18). Had left myself 262, 265, something like that to the last.
The tee shot on 18 was a little bit peculiar for me because I had been hitting it great all day. So even over that 3-wood I felt like could I hit a solid shot into the part of the green and just hit a little draw. One of the best shots I’ve hit.
Obviously feel great. Swinging it great. Putter is behaving. That’s I’d say a weak spot for me now and again but I’ve done a lot of work on it, and since moving over to Dubai, I’m very used to these style of greens, as well, so I feel like I can read the greens well.
The thing is, though, I’ve got a nice lead at the moment but even before I tee off tomorrow, someone might have caught me. 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. That’s a nice thing for me to know that, I just have to keep making birdies, keep going, keep going, and we’ll add them all up after Sunday afternoon.
American Johannes Veerman and Danish standout Niklas Norgaard posted strong rounds of their own.
Veerman, with a 67 following his opening 63, climbed to 14 under alongside Norgaard, who kept his scorecard spotless with seven birdies in a bogey-free 65.
Former leader Tommy Fleetwood and Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen stayed within reach as Olesen capped off his day with a second eagle on the last hole.
Further down, Ugo Coussaud and England’s Laurie Canter, Tyrrell Hatton, and Matt Wallace sit at 12 under, while Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, Italy’s Francesco Laporta, and South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence hover just below at 11 under.
Race to Dubai frontrunner Rory McIlroy faced a rocky finish with a triple bogey on 17 but managed a late birdie on the 18th to close at 10 under, keeping his title aspirations alive.
