DP World Tour : Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship Leaderboard Tee Times
Traditionally links courses need the wind to protect them from top professional players, and there isn't much of it this year.
Paul Waring shot a course-record 61 at Yas Links to open up a five-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The lowest round of the Englishman's DP World Tour career saw him reach -19 and move five clear of overnight leader Tommy Fleetwood, American Johannes Veerman and Danish pair Thorbjørn Olesen and Niklas Norgaard.
Waring had eight birdies over his first 17 holes and holed his approach for eagle at the sixth, but saved the shot of the day for the 18th.
After a wayward drive became embedded he was given a free drop but could still only chop his second back onto the fairway.
From 250 yards he hit a perfect fairway wood which fed down to four feet from the pin to leave a routine birdie putt.
Waring, whose -19 halfway total is the lowest in relation to par in DP World Tour history, said of his exploits on the 18th: “That was the best shot I’ve ever hit in my life to be honest.
“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.
“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.”
Norgaard and Veerman had fared best of the early starters to reach -14 with rounds of 65 and 67 respectively.
Olesen, whose last visit to the United Arab Emirates saw him win an eighth DP World Tour title at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, had a turbulent 67 that included a double bogey, a bogey, four birdies and two eagles – the second of which came when he pitched in at the last for -14
Fleetwood, who had equaled the previous course record with a -10 62 on Thursday, added a 68 as he bids to win in Abu Dhabi for the third time at -14, while Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy’s second consecutive 67 was marred by a triple-bogey six on the short 17th that left him nine off the pace at -10.
“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.”
edit **** Canada's Aaron Cockerill is now right on the bubble at #50 after posting a 3 birdie, 2 bogey -1 71 and at -4 is T52 and has dropped 3 spots from #47 in the projections.
With more fine weather and a superbly groomed course with wide fairways like a living room carpet and true greens that are receptive the shoot out will continue and Cockerill will need to join the birdie barrage a little more to ensure his place in the top 50 for the Tour Championship finale next week.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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