World No. 229 Waring taken aback by victory in Abu Dhabi

Englishman Paul Waring birdied the last two holes on Nov 10 for a bogey-free six-under 66 to win DP World Tour's Abu Dhabi Championship in the United Arab Emirates by two shots.

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The 39-year-old, a resident of Dubai, delivered the hammer blow to the chasing pack with a 41-foot birdie putt on the par-three 17th hole at Yas Links. He then hit a brilliant three-wood second shot to set up a birdie on the last to clinch the US$9 million (S$12 million) tournament.

At 24-under 264, Waring was two shots ahead of English compatriot Tyrrell Hatton (64). World No. 3 Rory McIlroy (64) finished in a three-way tie for third place at 21 under alongside Matt Wallace (63) and Thorbjorn Olesen (66).

Waring, who shot a course-record 61 on Nov 8 en route to a new tour 36-hole scoring record of 19 under, began the final round one ahead of Dane Niklas Norgaard Molle, and birdied the first two holes.

As the pursuers made plenty of birdies, Waring, the world No. 229, kept making steady pars and he raced ahead on the closing stretch.