Paul Waring held off a stellar chasing pack to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and claim his first Rolex Series title, but it was a case of what might have been for the three Irishmen in the field.
Tom McKibbin, needing to put in a strong final round to remain amongst the leading contenders for a PGA Tour card, shrugged off an opening bogey to card an eagle and five birdies on his opening nine to come charging up the leaderboard. 30 strokes is all it took for the Holywood man to cover the front side, but despite a pair of birdies on 10 and 11 which saw him draw to within two, he couldn’t gain further ground and a bogey at 16 and birdie at 18 saw him home with a 64 and a -19 tally overall.
It would leave him tied for 10th, but he falls to 18th in the Race to Dubai rankings and remains in the 11th spot in the hunt for 10 PGA Tour cards.
Rory McIlroy needed to go low to have any chance of a tournament victory or to wrap up the number-one spot in the Race to Dubai rankings, and he did exactly that with nine birdies over the course of his final 18. A bogey at the par-5 seventh hole after four birdies in the first six left him with a lot of work to do, but five birdies in the closing 11 holes and a T3 finish leaves him on the cusp of a sixth Harry Vardon Trophy as the leading player on Tour.
“I do feel in a good position. I saw Thriston making a charge today, and I was keeping one eye on the leaderboard and looking at what he was doing. I saw he posted 20,” McIlroy said.
“Obviously I wanted to birdie the last, anyway, but I know that birdie, even if it isn’t to win the tournament this week, it obviously gives me that little bit extra of a cushion going into next week.
“Every shot counts at this moment in time, and I was glad to make the four at the last and at least give myself half a chance at this tournament this week but also give myself a little bit more of a cushion going into Dubai next week as well.”
Shane Lowry will be the most disappointed of the trio, however, having drawn to within one of Waring when he drained a 21-footer on the 12th. The Offaly man had made seven birdies and a bogey at that stage, but it was the last birdie he’d make, and bogeys at 14, 17 and 18 saw him sign for a closing 69 that dropped him to T13 at tournament’s end.
The Englishman displayed nerves of steel in his bogey-free closing 66 as he got to 24 under par and two shots ahead of four-time Rolex Series winner Tyrrell Hatton, with Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy, England’s Matt Wallace and Dane Thorbjørn Olesen a shot further back.
Waring had taken control of the first event of the new DP World Tour Play-Offs with a course-record 61 at Yas Links on Friday but saw his five-shot halfway lead reduced to one as he posted a 73 a day later.
The 39-year-old, whose only previous DP World Tour title came at the Nordea Masters more than six years ago, made a fast start with two opening birdies and added two more at the seventh and 10th.
He responded to being caught by Hatton with a moment of magic as he converted from 40 feet at the 17th, before hitting a perfect drive at the last, running a three-wood through the back of the green and getting up and down to seal victory.
“It just hasn’t sunk in yet. Obviously I still think I’ve got to go and do something else or got to go play another hole or something because I kind of never let myself think that I was over the line at any point. I always knew there was a job to be done and work to be done as I was playing,” said an emotional Waring.
“That was massive (on the 17th). Me and my caddie, we had a look at the lines, to be fair, we really fancied it, really, really fancied it, and as soon as it left the blade, I knew it was in. I know that sounds a bit cocky or whatever, but it was so pure. I knew it was dead middle as soon as I hit it, and I was just absolutely buzzing to see that go.
“It’s my second win. I’ve been knocking on the door a few times. I had a few seconds. I’ve been in and around a few times. To get over the line again is fantastic, and to control it the way I have as well, especially today. I thought I might have let it slip yesterday.
“But to keep a lead yesterday the way I was playing, I knew I wouldn’t have two days in a row playing like that, and today I always felt — I felt like I had another gear that I needed. I was hitting into the middle of a lot of greens. Not taking too much on.
“I’ll be looking forward to next week, actually. It’s my home course now. Got a lot of really good friends there. I can’t wait to see them all, at least tonight. I’ll have a lot of support and there will be a real buzz around the place and I can’t wait for next week now.”
McIlroy’s 64 could have been enough to sew up the Race to Dubai, but the fight continues into the season-ending DP World Tour Championship after closest challenger Thriston Lawrence recorded two eagles and four birdies in his round of 64 to get to 20 under and a tie for sixth alongside two-time Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Tommy Fleetwood, and French pair Ugo Coussaud and Antoine Rozner.
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