ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Paul Waring hit the shot of his life to finish a career-low 11-under 61 within the second spherical of the Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday and set up a five-stroke lead heading into the weekend of the DP World Tour’s first playoff occasion.
The No. 229-ranked Englishman hit a draw with a 3-wood from about 260 yards to inside 4 toes at No. 18 and tapped within the birdie putt to maneuver to 19 underneath par for the match.
The DP World Tour confirmed to The Related Press that it’s the lowest 36-hole rating to par within the tour’s historical past. The earlier low in relation to par over the firs two rounds was Ernie Els’ 18-under-par complete on the 2004 Heineken Basic.
Waring, who opened with a 64 on Thursday, made 9 birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free spherical at Yas Hyperlinks and set a course document.
“I’ve acquired a pleasant lead for the time being however even earlier than I tee off tomorrow, somebody might need caught me,” stated the 39-year-old Waring, whose sole win got here on the Nordea Masters in 2018. “Whereas I’m within the lead for the time being, and if we’re rational about this, everybody continues to be going to fireplace plenty of birdies in there.
“So if I’m going to be concerned on Sunday afternoon, I’ve nonetheless acquired to maintain going the way in which I’m and I do know that.”
First-round chief Tommy Fleetwood of England (68), Johannes Veerman of the USA (67) and Danish gamers Niklas Norgaard (65) and Thorbjorn Olesen (67) have been tied for second place on 14 underneath.
Rory McIlroy hit his tee shot right into a greenside bunker on the par-3 seventeenth and made a triple bogey on the way in which to a second successive 67, leaving him 9 strokes off the lead.
McIlroy, who can clinch a sixth Race to Dubai title with a win this week, was 7 underneath after 13 holes of his second spherical and feels he’ll want to supply one thing much like reel in Waring and his closest chasers.
“I want the golf course to agency up a little bit bit and toughen up a little bit bit to have an opportunity,” McIlroy stated. “There’s so many gettable holes on the market.”
