Englishman Paul Waring carded a course-record 61 Friday to open a five-shot lead midway through the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in the United Arab Emirates.
Waring’s tap-in birdie at the 18th hole at Yas Links moved him to 19-under-par, the lowest 36-hole score to par in the history of the European tour.
Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard (65 on Friday) and Thorbjorn Olesen (67), American Johannes Veerman (67) and first-round leader Tommy Fleetwood (68) of England are tied for second at 14 under.
Waring, who opened the tour’s first playoff event with a 64 on Thursday, posted nine birdies and an eagle at the par-4 sixth hole during a bogey-free performance.
Waring delivered his best shot of the day and secured the lowest round of his career at the par-5 18th. Following a wayward drive and a free drop, he chopped his second shot back to the fairway before launching a 250-yard blast to within 4 feet of the cup.
“That was the best shot I’ve ever hit in my life, to be honest,” Waring said of his fairway wood at No. 18.
Waring, 39, is ranked No. 229 in the world and has just one win on the European tour at the 2018 Nordea Masters.
“Obviously feel great, swinging it great. Putter is behaving,” Waring said. “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 this style of greens as well.
“I’ve got a nice lead at the moment but even before I tee off tomorrow, someone might have caught me. So, if I’m going to be involved on Sunday afternoon I’ve still got to keep going the way I am.”
Olesen’s eventful round Friday included two eagles, four birdies, a double bogey and a bogey. He pitched in at the 18th for his second eagle.
“It was a bit of a battle there on the back nine,” Olesen said. “I probably got what I deserved, and that’s what golf does. You get some good breaks but then you know you’re probably going to get some bad breaks, also.”
Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland is nine shots behind Waring after a second straight 67 that included a triple-bogey at the par-3 17th.
“I played quite nice up to that point and I feel like I hit a nice shot into 17, just trundled into the bunker,” McIlroy said.
“There wasn’t a lot of sand where the ball was and I just sort of made a mess of it from there, but bounced back well to birdie the last.”
–Field Level Media
