Waring quick to meet the challenge

Nov 6 2007 by Richard Williamson, Liverpool Daily Post

PAUL WARING will seek to take the next step towards completing a rapid rise from the amateur ranks to the full European Tour this week.

The Bromborough golfer heads to Spain for the second stage of the European Tour qualifying school having already made his mark on the professional game.

The 23-year-old has earned playing rights to next year’s Challenge Tour after competing in just six events since turning professional in August.

The Wirral player finished in the money five times in six starts – and only missed out on his maiden victory in his second event when he lost out in a play-off at the POSTBANK Challenge presented by Marcel Siem in Germany.

That result helped him finish in the top 80 on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, but Waring is determined not to allow the fact that he has achieved one target deflect him from the potential for an even bigger success.

“Having done well on the Challenge Tour does take the pressure off to a degree, but I don’t want to get complacent,” said Waring. “It is important that I look to push on.”

Waring enjoyed a distinguished amateur career, including becoming English amateur champion over his home course in 2005.

As a member of the English Golf Union’s Elite squad, he is indebted to their support in preparing him for the professional golfer’s way of life.

“So much of what the EGU do is geared up to helping players prepare for the professional game,” he says. “The tournaments have a similar format and they have taught me things which I may not have understood at the time but that have now clicked into place since turning pro. I am so grateful to them for their efforts which mean when I started playing in professional tournaments I felt very comfortable about all it involves.”

He qualified for this year’s Open Championship at Carnoustie to give himself an insight into the professional world, but it was only after missing out on a place in the Walker Cup team that he decided to take the plunge into the paid ranks.

“The plan was always to turn professional after the Walker Cup,” he explained. “Not being picked was a massive disappointment for me, but it was not a knee-jerk reaction to turn professional.

“I sat down and thought about what I wanted to do. There did not seem much point carrying on as an amateur. There was a danger I would get stale or not work as hard, but turning professional would give me experience of tournament life ahead of the qualifying school.

“I can’t thank my management company, PSP, enough for delivering the opportunities to play on the Challenge Tour.

“Playing in the Open was a great experience. It was a bit of a circus really, and very noisy, and I was disappointed with the way I played. In the end I did the typical thing an amateur does - qualifies, but then does not play well enough to make the cut.

“But I learnt a lot – as I have done over the past few months. Playing in the Open showed me that this is where I wanted to play my golf.

“I was disappointed to miss out on winning my second Challenge Tour event in a play-off, but overall I have to be pleased with the start I have made as a professional and it has certainly helped give me a lot of confidence.”

Belief in his own ability will be a key factor in helping Waring over the coming months as he looks to establish himself in the highly competitive world of trying to make a living from playing golf.

But he says it is important not to get too preoccupied by simply trying to make the cut to ensure there is a pay cheque at the end of the week.

Waring, who will have fellow Bromborough member Duncan Robertson on his bag for the next couple of seasons, says: “I think Duncan summed up the challenge well. He said it is about me playing to my full potential and then everything else will fall into place.

“I am sure the likes of Tiger Woods are not thinking about how much money he might win, but about getting the best out of himself.

I think that kind of attitude could be the key to doing well. The last few months have been helpful in showing me that the void between the top of the amateur game and the professional game is not as wide as many might think.

“One of the differences is the strength in depth in a professional field where all the players are capable of emerging from the pack and winning an event.

“Because everyone is so tightly bunched, one dropped shot or a gained one can make a big difference to your finishing position and the amount of money you win. But that also means that if you are 40th in a professional event going into the final day there is still plenty to play for.

“Also these guys play a really tight game and rarely give shots away. It might be a bit of a generalisation, but the professionals have a stronger short game than the top amateurs.”

Waring had taken a few weeks off ahead of this week’s trip to Spain – where he will be playing at the Arcos Gardens course in Jerez, a venue he has played while on a training camp with England.

The top 20 from 80 starters will progress to final qualifying at San Roque, when 30 Tour cards will be up for grabs.

“There is no point going if I did not believe I could do well,” added Waring. “Playing on the Challenge Tour has already shown me that if I play well I am going to be in contention and that’s a massive confidence boost. You have got to look beyond merely surviving, forget about the fact that you are playing for money and try and get the best out of yourself and let the results follow.”