By his own admission, Rory McIlroy has not been at his best around the Earth Course this week.
But then, he said, that was kind of to be expected. The world No 2, crowned Race to Dubai champion for a fifth time before a ball had been struck at the DP World Tour Championship (DPWTC), has been slightly below par the first few days.
Not literally, mind. McIlroy shot a bogey-free 65 on Saturday, embellished significantly by a birdie-eagle finish, to sit on a wholly respectable 8-under par. The only problem being, it left him eight more behind leader Matt Wallace, in a tie for 18th.
Most probably, and primarily because of his 71-72 across the opening two days, the two-time tournament winner is too far back for a tilt at title No 3.
But having taken time off since his starring role in Europe’s Ryder Cup win in Italy in October, McIlroy can be forgiven for displaying a few signs of rust.
“I think so,” the four-time major champion said. “I haven't done much at all after the Ryder Cup. Tried to put in a little bit of practice over the last couple of weeks, but I sort of jammed my wrist, as well, a couple weeks ago and that limited how many balls I hit, too.
“Yeah, just sort of came in not as prepared as I could have been or should have been. But feel like I'm starting to find my feet a little bit after a few days.”
Indeed, McIlroy has been sporting a bit of tape on his right wrist this week. Hopefully, though, it holds up when he has to hoist the pretty hefty Race to Dubai trophy, no matter how he finishes, on Sunday.
“It's the last round of the year,” McIlroy said of the final 18 holes of the season finale. “Go out and try to shoot a good score and get myself a decent finish.
“I would say, as well, coming into the week, already having wrapped up the Race to Dubai, I'd say my expectation levels weren't super high.
“But still, every day I go out there, I go out there and try to do my absolute best. It was nice to play a little bit more like me today.”
DP World Tour Championship Day 3 - in pictures
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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Fight card
1. Featherweight 66kg: Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg: Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg:Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg: Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
5. Featherweight 66kg: Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)
6. Catchweight 85kg: Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
7. Featherweight 66kg: Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
8. Catchweight 73kg: Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Ahmed Abdelraouf of Egypt (EGY)
9. Featherweight 66kg: Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
10. Catchweight 90kg: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
