DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 13, 2024

Paul Waring

Jumeirah Golf Estates, Earth Course

Quick Quotes

Q. I've just noticed you walking down towards us and there's a smile as wide as can be on your face, and understandably so. What have the last few days been like?

PAUL WARING: Absolute chaos in all honesty. It's been a massive comedown. The adrenaline has finally come out of me a little bit. It's kind of hit me what I've just achieved.

Very proud of what I've been through and how I coped with. But yeah, it's been an absolute roller coaster these last few days. I had a couple of meetings, a couple of chats with people about potentially what could happen next year and all that sort of thing.

It's very exciting, I'm going to stay the start of something new.

Q. It's a lot to take in, isn't it?

PAUL WARING: It is. I didn't realise the enormity of it when I was in the situation, and even afterwards after lifting the trophy, everything like that, again, nothing had sunk in, really, about what I had actually gone and achieved.

As I say, now it's slowly starting to come to the front of my mind.

Q. Is it just as well that those thoughts he didn't creep in at that time?

PAUL WARING: Very much so. If I knew what was going on with the enormity of it, I wouldn't have gone over the line, really.

But that shows how good Alex on my bag has been, as well, because he kept me very much in the present. I know how people talk about in the present when they are talking about playing good golf or top-level sport, but just shows how true it is.

Q. What has gone on? What have been the discussions, the meetings, the thoughts and all that's happened?

PAUL WARING: Yeah, I went into the event really thinking about solidifying my place in this week, really. I was 48 on the Order of Merit. Had a solid season, a few fireworks, a few Top 10s. Third in China and thought I had a chance of winning and didn't really get it going on the back nine.

To then and go and win in a Rolex Series, one of our biggest events outside of the majors, really, to potentially locking up a PGA TOUR card and completely changing my schedule. I've gone interest playing whatever I wanted ton the DP World Tour to potentially trying to figure out now and when to start my hopefully PGA TOUR career.

Q. This might sound a daft question, but is that an enticing prospect for someone who has lived their life on the DP World Tour?

PAUL WARING: It really is. It's something that I think we aspire to play with the best players in the world, and you know, to forward my career, if you know what I mean, to go and play on that side of the pond, more World Ranking points available, to potentially get in a few of the majors now.

I'm knocking on the door of getting in the top hundred again, and getting in the U.S. PGA and qualifying for the The Open championship. Those are the level of tournaments where I want to play. I've had, I'm not going to say a frustrating career, but I've always been on the cusp something, and now to kick down that door and get in these events, it's massive for me.

Q. A long way out, but you're now on the Ryder Cup points list. You've been with the Ryder Cup but that was with Five Live. This is very different, isn't it?

PAUL WARING: It is very different. I remember being there. We had Matt Wallace there, I could see in Matt's eyes he was desperate to try and make this next Ryder Cup.

For me personally, of course it's something we all dream of, it really is. Any level of golf, obviously the Solheim Cup, Ryder Cup, it's something that you grow up watching and feeling a part of.

Again, it's my -- how would I put it -- it's my connection with the DP World Tour in Europe and the representation of Europe in that situation that would make me really want to play. But it's not just playing for me. It's going and competing, getting the points.

I'd only ever want to go if I was that person that could go and get a point. Because you have to be a beast to go and compete over there this year -- or next year, sorry. It's going to be hostile; I know that. It's kind of like, I want to turn myself into a person that can go and embrace that situation.

Q. Just to use that word, you were a beast last week in Abu Dhabi in a golfing sense. Have you been able to assess what it was that gave you the opportunity to perform at that level against that field, really, for the first time, in a very long career?

PAUL WARING: Yeah, I think we have actually touched on it about five minutes ago with my manager, Brendan Taylor, actually. I actually moved he over here last year.

So I live in Dubai now, and playing last week felt very homely to me. It felt very, I'll use the word "comfortable," on a golf course that I've played a lot, over the last few years, really. And this is going to sound daft but goes into this week a little bit. I felt like the players were in my backyard. I felt like I know this place.

As soon as I sort of got home, I felt -- I haven't been back to Dubai and I had not been back at UAE for a while, but I felt naturally calm and in a good place. I think you know me well enough that when I'm happy, when I'm in a happy place, I can play better and I can achieve a lot of things.

So I think me taking that forward and knowing that about myself put me in a good place mentally, no matter what the noise is outside of that. If I put myself in position, I can perform.

Q. And feeling that way again this week?

PAUL WARING: Yeah, in my home golf club in my backyard. Golf course is set up different than what we play week-to-week, I'm not going to lie. A lot of rough and you can lose your ball in a yard off the fairway which makes it fun, and sticky areas around the greens where they have shaved some of the areas down.

Like I said, a little bit sticky, a little bit sandy, so chipping is going to be a little bit different. I think you might see a few of the world's best players making some funny mistakes around the greens this week but it is what it is.

No, I'm looking forward to getting going on a golf course that I know and love and with the support of everyone I know and love, as well. It should be good fun.