Euro rider catches McIlroy, Hatton. The PGA Tour card is next

Paul Waring is facing the right kind of anxiety on Sunday night, just after his second DP World Tour win. Prepare friends to celebrate with youwent the question.

“Actually, I’m a little worried,” Waring said.

He worries, if anything, how many hours lie ahead of him on the night of the biggest golf success of his life.

Waring started his work week in a tricky way, just trying to make “50 birdies,” as he had just done in practice. That goal led him to make history at Yas Links, just 24 hours after Tommy Fleetwood did the same. Sorry, Tommy!

Then he took a deep step back. Waring held a 5-under, 36-hole lead entering the weekend but struggled in the windy conditions to shoot a 73 on Saturday, clearing the field. Sharks were in the water.

The likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton were lurking in the background. Other PGA Tour players such as Thomas Detry and Nicolai Hojgaard were also in contention. These are European golfers who have graduated as well go away a tour based in Europe that favors the largest millions offered on the PGA Tour in America. They are beaten and deserve a place where you play with them more often.

Waring was also not ignorant of these facts. At 39 years old, he’s been around enough golf clubs to know that when an opportunity presents itself, you have to take it. So he talked about it after that 61 course record.

“There are big things in my career that I want to do,” he said, “and as I said yesterday, the top 25 places get a place in the Open next year.” That’s something I want to try and achieve, and two weeks, if I get somewhere close to a PGA Tour card … why not have those goals?”

Why not?

Why don’t they look like birds in holes 1 and 2. Then birdies on the 7th and 10th holes, rebuilt that lead while McIlroy charged a 64. Waring made six nervy pars in a row, slowing the pace enough for Tyrrell Hatton to shoot a solo 64, send him 22 under and tie for the lead. .

If Waring can play the final two holes in one under par, he can claim his first win in six years and his first Rolex Series win on the 17-year tour. He did one better, finishing birdie-birdie with a 40-footer on the 17th and a 10-footer on the last – both landing in the heart of the cup and both earning electric fist pumps.

“I’ll be honest, the legs were a little shaky on that last putt,” Waring said afterward. “I wanted to make sure nothing else happened and it’s good to put it in at the end.”

This was the first of two playoff events on the DP World Tour, bringing with it a significant purse and plenty of Race to Dubai points, which carry more weight than ever before. After next weekend’s final qualifying event, the top 10 players on the season long list who do not yet have PGA Tour membership will earn full tour cards for their success across the pond.

With his win on Sunday, Waring jumped from a respectable, good-for-one-year-in-Europe position of 48th to 5th. Fifth behind McIlroy and Billy Horschel, two players who are locked out of PGA Tour membership, will not be counted among those looking to secure one of those 10 cards. That means Waring is actually the third PGA Tour prospect, all but guaranteeing his spot on the PGA Tour next season.

His first thoughts on that?

“I was very happy to be in Dubai to be honest with you,” Waring said on Sunday night.

Plans have changed sir. In the best possible way. You can find him at his best, and the happiest of times, from the ‘Green Room’ of the DP World Tour.