When Paul Waring stepped out of the shadows with a transformative couple of weeks in the UAE at the end of 2024, he was sure life was on the upswing.
Victory at the Abu Dhabi Championship brought the Dubai resident the biggest title of his career, and a cheque for a cool €1,420,000.
He backed that up at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship on his adopted home course at Jumeirah Golf Estates a week later with a result that earned him a PGA Tour card for the following season.
In the space of a few days, he had increased his career earnings by around a third, and vaulted up to 101st in the world rankings. He termed the prospect of a season in the United States “monumental”.
And then his dream run suddenly crashed to a halt. Carrying a shoulder injury that was manageable enough to play through, but a hindrance to attaining anything like top form, his time Stateside was a nightmare.
The 40-year-old Englishman made one cut in 14 tournaments in 2025, when he finished tied-47th at the RBC Canadian Open in June.
It was bleak, and he eventually gave in to the pain and missed four months through injury. Having tumbled back down to 247 in the world rankings, now he is starting over again in pleasingly familiar surroundings.
Waring's Abu Dhabi win - in pictures
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Paul Waring of England kisses the trophy following victory on day four of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship 2024 at Yas Links. Getty Images -
Paul Waring of England, right, poses with his caddie, Alex Evans and the trophy on the 18th green. Getty Images -
Paul Waring of England celebrates victory on the 18th green. Getty Images -
Paul Waring of England embraces his caddie, Alex Evans, following victory on the 18th green. Getty Images -
Paul Waring of England celebrates his crucial birdie putt on the 17th green. Getty Images -
Paul Waring of England tees off on the 18th hole. Getty Images -
Paul Waring of England lines up a putt with his caddie on the 16th green. Getty Images -
Paul Waring of England tees off at the 3rd hole. AP -
Tyrrell Hatton of England plays his second shot on the 18th hole. Getty Images -
Tyrrell Hatton of England celebrates on the 18th green. Getty Images -
Tyrrell Hatton of England acknowledges the crowd. Getty Images -
Shane Lowry of Ireland tees off on the 12th hole. Getty Images -
Shane Lowry of Ireland plays his second shot on the 10th hole. Getty Images -
Shane Lowry of Ireland walks across the first tee. Getty Images -
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland tees off on the 17th hole. Getty Images -
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland smiles alongside Johannes Veerman of the United States. Getty Images
Waring had a mid-table finish of 27th at the Dubai Invitational on Sunday, at a course by the Creek which he has played plenty of times during his recuperation, as his neighbour is a member.
Next up is the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, just across the city which he now calls home, at Emirates Golf Club.
The chance to right some wrongs in America is still there. But Waring has a different perspective on things now.
“Not everything always goes to plan does it in life; it's just the way it is,” Waring said.
“I've got a medical exemption on PGA Tour, another nine events. So there's more opportunity over in America for me this year, which is good, and obviously being fit makes a massive difference.
“But also I want to make sure that I'm playing in Abu Dhabi and Dubai [in the two-legged DP World Tour Play-offs, which is only open to the leading players in the Race to Dubai] at the end of the year, so I want to dedicate enough time to this tour as well.
“I'm in this really fortunate position where I'm exempt through to 2028 on DP World Tour. I've got half a season on the PGA Tour now to go and see what I can do.
“If I get off to a great start I'll stay in America. If I don't, I can come back and play on our lovely tour over here on DP World Tour, where all my friends and family are.”
Waring moved to Dubai in 2023 for a variety of reasons, not least because of the benefits it had to his playing schedule on the DP World Tour. And yet, within a year, he had earned the right to play on the other side of the world instead.
“We'd made this lovely decision to go and move to Dubai, for the practice facilities, the travel , the lifestyle, and everything goes with it,” Waring said.
“It's been brilliant. It has made travel to Asia so much easier, and it was only five hours back into Europe. And then my first flight in my season was 16 hours into San Francisco with nine hours worth of jet lag.
“I was thinking, ‘This is a bit different.’ It is a challenge when in America living here, but I have no desire to actually live in America.
“I love living in Dubai, I love living in the UAE. I've got some great friends over here. The weather's fantastic, people are fantastic. I have no desire to go anywhere else.”
With an all-star cast, headed up by the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton and Dustin Johnson, set for the Emirates this week, Waring is keeping his expectations modest for the Classic. But he is confident things are heading back in the right direction.
“You know what, if I come out and strike the ball as I have at times [at the Dubai Invitational], I feel like I can have a good week,” he said
“The putter feels better, the body feels great, so if I can find a bit of momentum, as I've done in the past in certain tournaments and get on a bit of a run, then if you can get yourself in amongst it on Saturday and Sunday.
“What happens from there? You want to be involved in tournaments, you want to be at the top end of the leaderboard, and you want to be winning golf tournaments.”
