At the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, if you were told that an Englishman living in Dubai had won the Falcon Trophy, you’d immediately assume it was Tommy Fleetwood.
You’d be wrong. It was actually Jumeirah Golf Estates member Paul Waring, who claimed the penultimate Rolex Series event of the season in front of the packed galleries at Yas Links.
The 39-year-old’s remarkable week included setting a new course record with an incredible 11-under-par 61, achieving the lowest 36-hole score to par in the Tour’s history and holding off the likes of Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton in a thrilling final round.
“I don’t want to sound over the top or anything but I felt like my golf game has been in such a good place over the last year,” said Waring.
“Just haven’t put it all together. And then this week arrives and you know what, a week for it all to come together, putting nicely, approach play was great, great off the tee. It’s nice to put it all together and get a tournament like this.”
In addition to securing his first victory since the 2018 Nordea Masters, Waring’s triumph in the capital earned him a PGA Tour card, awarded to the top ten players on the Race to Dubai who aren’t otherwise exempt. His winner’s cheque of €1,419,711.05 also surpassed his total earnings for every season except 2019.
For the third time in his career, Rory McIlroy completed the Dubai double at the Earth course, winning both the season-long Race to Dubai and the DP World Tour Championship.
In a season of near-misses, it seemed only fitting that the four-time Major champion would end the year with another trophy in Dubai, having also won the Hero Dubai Desert Classic for a record-breaking fourth time in January.
With his latest victory, McIlroy has now matched late, great Seve Ballesteros’ six Harry Vardon Trophies. The only player ahead of them is Colin Montgomerie, with eight titles to his name.
“I’ve just won my third in a row,” said an McIlroy. “I’ve really made it a priority of my schedule over the last few years to give myself the best chance coming into the end of the year to win the Race to Dubai.
“I don’t see that being any different for the foreseeable future. You know, I’m going to go for my seventh next year and try to chase Monty down.”
