Wirral golfer smashes Abu Dhabi record leaving Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood in his wake

Wirral's Paul Waring set a stunning course record of 61 during the second round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, securing a substantial lead at the halfway point. His exceptional performance included holing out from 119 yards for an eagle on the sixth and adding nine birdies, taking him to 19 under par as he hunts down his second DP World Tour title at Yas Links.

This resulted in a five-shot gap between him and players like Tommy Fleetwood and Thorbjorn Olesen, while Rory McIlroy trailed by nine after a crippling triple bogey on the 17th. Waring finished his round with a flourish, playing his third shot on the par-five 18th just three feet from the pin after recovering from a misdirected drive.

"That was the best shot I’ve ever hit in my life to be honest," admitted Waring. Adding to his commentary on the day's play, he noted peculiarities and ambitions: "The tee shot on 18 was a little bit peculiar for me because I had been hitting it great all day, so even over that three wood I felt like could I hit a solid shot into the part of the green and just hit a little draw."

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The 39-year-old from Bromborough also shared some insight into his mindset, saying: "In total honesty I’m just trying to keep going, keep making birdies. My caddie made the remark a few days ago, we played a little bit of golf at Trump over in Dubai and we played the Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates as well and for those two rounds, I actually had 50 per cent birdies, so he said today, 'right, every round, you’ve got to better 50 per cent birdies.'"

Expressing confidence in his performance, he added: "Obviously [I] 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."

After matching the previous course record with a stunning 62 on Thursday and following up with a solid 68, Fleetwood is vying for yet another win in Abu Dhabi, while McIlroy, despite a consistent performance, faced a setback on the 17th hole. Reflecting on this, McIlroy said: "I played quite nice up to that point and I feel like I hit a nice shot into 17, just trundled into the bunker."

Despite the misstep, he remained optimistic, citing his resilience: "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."

McIlroy acknowledges a tough road ahead, recalling his remarkable comeback in Dubai earlier in the year, and noted: "I need the golf course to toughen up a little bit to have a chance. There’s so many gettable holes out there."

Anticipating what it would take to be in contention, he concluded: "I shot 63 on that Saturday in Dubai and I’m going to need something similar, if not lower, to give myself a chance going into Sunday."