Paul Waring chasing ‘outrageous goal’ ahead of PGA Tour debut

Who wants a quiet start to life on the PGA Tour, anyway?

Paul Waring is making his debut on the US circuit at this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open – the tournament known as the biggest party in golf.

At TPC Scottsdale, Waring will make a chaotic start to his new journey as a PGA Tour member, three months after his career-altering win out in the Middle East.

Then the world No.229, Waring upstaged the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. He claimed a £1.2million first prize, as well as earning enough Race to Dubai points to earn full playing rights on the PGA Tour for 2025.

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Waring was still riding the wave of his success at the recent Hero Dubai Desert Classic, where he sat down with bunkered at the spectacular Majlis course before the showpiece began.

The $9million tournament, won by fellow Englishman Tyrrell Hatton at the Emirates Club, is now something of a home game for Waring after he recently relocated nearby in Dubai.

However, ahead of his 2025 season, Waring also made clear that he isn’t switching domains from the DP World Tour to the PGA Tour just to make up the numbers.

Speaking in bunkered issue 220, Waring said: “It’s something you’d never believe. I felt like I could do it but to actually go and do it, it took a lot. I had to win an event like that to catapult me up there.

“It really was a pinch-me moment. If this only lasts one year, fine. At least it’s on my CV that I played a year on the PGA Tour. But that’s not my intent.

“If that was the intent, I wouldn’t take it because I’m very comfortable on this tour. My goal is to win on the PGA Tour. I’ve won a Rolex Series event with a high-quality field. Winning is difficult at this level but, unless you’re Tiger, it takes a little bit of luck. I just want to put myself in a position to win.”

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It is a mark of how things quickly can change in the professional golf world that Waring had inadvertently caused himself a headache by claiming a PGA Tour card.

The 40-year-old from the Wirral has been enjoying home comforts in his new base of Dubai, but will now be splitting his time in the States and travelling with his wife Claire.

“It’s a great problem to have, but it has created problems,” he added. “I was so set on living in the UAE. We moved over to Dubai last October and have been here 15 months. It’s class, great facilities and great people around me. I’m not going to spend as much time in Dubai this year as I’d like. I’ll end up playing 24 or 25 events in America. I’m going all-in. I don’t want to set a low target of just keeping a card but that’s the number one priority.”

Waring knows that preserving his card key on his first year out on the PGA Tour, but he also has the platform to reach his bigger goal: playing in the Ryder Cup.

He concedes that September’s match at Bethpage Black wasn’t even on the radar before that big win in Abu Dhabi, but he impressed in January’s team cup with two-and-a-half points from three and could now play his own way in through his appearances Stateside.

“We talk about being a journeyman and then we talk about my next potential goal being the Ryder Cup,” he said. “The disparity of where people have viewed me to where I actually want to be is massive. I know it’s an outrageous goal but it’s something I would absolutely love to go and do. I helped myself by going undefeated at the Team Cup.”

• Read the full interview with Paul Waring in issue 220 of bunkered, on-sale now from all good newsagents. Alternatively, subscribe here. International subscriptions also available.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.