If you really can judge somebody by the company they keep, then Paul Waring is doing well. Even as he mixes in an increasingly starry set, and plans for an entirely altered future after a “monumental” change in circumstances over the past two weeks, he remains a golfing everyman.
One week, he was shouldering the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton and Shane Lowry out the way to earn the finest win of his 17 years as a DP World Tour professional.
He looked like he belonged in such vaunted company as he won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, then appeared to be actively revelling in it at the DP World Tour Championship a week later.
His extraordinary form ran dry at the last, as he eventually had to settle for a tie for 16th in the season-ending tournament, after holding a share of the lead at one point during the weekend. It made sense that the adrenalin was finally going to course out of him at some point, given the highs of the previous few days.
The win in Abu Dhabi followed by the solid finish in Dubai vaulted him up to fifth in the Race to Dubai. He has also moved from 229th in the world rankings to 101st.
He won €1,419,771 along with the Falcon Trophy in the capital. The showing at Jumeirah Golf Estates topped that up with an additional €105,250. It meant that in the space of seven days he had increased his career earnings on the tour by around a third.
On Wednesday, he was named as part of Luke Donald's Great Britain and Ireland team that will take on Continental Europe early in 2025 in the Team Cup.
And through it all, if he looked like he was out enjoying a Friday four-ball with mates, there was a good reason for it. During the second round of the Tour Championship, he was followed around the Earth Course by a big group of friends with whom he usually does exactly that.
They were cheering his every move. They had T-shirts specially made, bearing the inscription, “The Ware Dog”. And they were wearing bucket hats referencing the 500 Club, which is the society Waring plays with in Dubai on as many Fridays as his schedule permits.
Presumably they might be seeing a little less of him given how his life has changed since Abu Dhabi.
“It’s monumentally different, more different than you ever could imagine,” Waring told The National. “I was 48th on the race, trying to solidify my place [at the season-ending Tour Championship] and that was a really solid season.
“I had been playing nicely and always knew that a win was around the corner. I was going to work hard over the winter and try to get that done next year.
“Then to go to Abu Dhabi and do that last week, it has changed everything completely for me now. Now we are going to be over in America a lot more next year playing on the PGA Tour. I will still come back to Europe when I can.”
Even saying those words feels surreal. On the strength of one fine week, his whole schedule will be amended, and the guys he has been knocking about with for so long will be left behind.
He says the idea of not seeing so much of his old mates will be bittersweet, but is keen to test himself in the United States. “The DP World Tour is my home. It has been my home for the past 17 years,” Waring said.
“I got my card in 2007 and never lost it. I battled through a few things here and there, but everyone here has been so supportive throughout my career. I have so many friends over here and I am going to really miss a few people.
“I am not going to stand here and lie and say I can’t wait to get over on to the PGA Tour. I will miss people on this tour, but at the same time I am looking forward to a fresh challenge. I have played this tour for so long now it will be nice to go and try something new.”
Waring has taken his time about being an overnight sensation. He is 39 now, and he says that a move to Dubai last year has helped him reach the heights he thought he was capable of.
“I have always felt as though I was a better player than my performances have showed,” Waring said.
“I am not going to say I have underachieved, because with this game, you are where you are. I was in [lower] positions because some parts of my game weren’t good enough relative to other parts of my game.
“Having been in Dubai now for a year, practising in such great facilities, areas of my game have improved so much they have allowed me to go and compete at this top level and keep myself there for consistent periods of rounds.”
He describes relocating to Dubai as being a “no-brainer”. When he was living at home in Manchester, he would transit through Dubai International Airport to travel to every event between October and May anyway.
“For over half my year, I am saving myself four hours of jet lag and seven hours of travel,” he said.
“Also, during the winter months, where better in the world is there to practice? It was a no-brainer. It has meant a change of lifestyle, and I have met some great people out here as well. It has been the best thing I have ever done.”
Another thing that his excellence in the first DP World Tour Play-offs has done is have him dreaming about playing in the Ryder Cup for the first time. He is now fifth in Europe’s Ryder Cup points rankings, with only McIlroy, Rasmus Hojgaard, Hatton and Matt Wallace ahead of him.
Maybe Europe’s fans might want to learn the words to the catchy ditty his mates from the 500 Club were singing at points during Round 2 at JGE: what’s that coming over the hill, is it the Ware Dog?
“It is just a great group of lads,” Waring said. “They have made me feel so welcome here, I have made some real true friends in the past 12 months. I am very grateful for them showing their support in those first few days.
“They were screaming and shouting, and singing along, creating a great atmosphere. I have had a good start in the Ryder Cup points, and it would be a dream and a goal to go and play in the Ryder Cup. I know I have a long way to go and a lot more to do.
“Even from a mentality point of view, having those guys there being a bit rowdy, at least they are shouting for me. If I was to get to Bethpage for the Ryder Cup, it is going to be brutal, so the more I can put myself in those situations and the more I can get comfortable with it, the better.”
