Thriston Lawrence said winning this week's DP World Tour Championship and overhauling Rory McIlroy to clinch the Race to Dubai title would be the "cherry on the cake" of a standout season.
The South African is the only player who can prevent McIlroy from winning the Race to Dubai title – formerly the Order of Merit – and joining the late Seve Ballesteros on six and going only two behind Colin Montgomerie's record.
Lawrence has to win – nothing less is good enough – and then needs Northern Irishman McIlroy to finish tied for 11th or lower.
“Rory has been an idol for me since growing up as a youngster,” Lawrence, 27, said. “And being able to clinch it this week would be the cherry on the cake for myself.”
The smart money, however, is on McIlroy, who has shown extraordinary consistency in collecting a win – at the Dubai Desert Classic in January – as well as four runner-up finishes and three more top fives in his 12 European tour events this season.
“Rory is held to a higher standard than pretty much everybody else in the world of golf,” Tommy Fleetwood said. “But I think he’s shown amazing golf again this year, and he’s shown why he’s one of the best to ever do it.”
An interesting side story at Jumeirah Golf Estates this week will be the re-emergence of Matteo Manassero.
The Italian quit golf five years ago at the age of 26, tormented by a sport which gave him so many highs but was no longer making him feel happy.
On Sunday, he could punch a ticket to play across the Atlantic on the lucrative PGA Tour and be back in the big time, where so many think his game belongs.
The 31 year old will look to cap his career revival this week by becoming one of 10 players from the European Tour to be eligible to claim dual membership and a PGA Tour card for the 2025 season.
The race for those PGA Tour cards, a structural tweak, was created in 2022 in the wake of the so-called strategic alliance between the European Tour and PGA Tour in the face of mounting pressure from the breakaway LIV Golf series.
The presence of Manassero in the 10-man list, as it stands, only elevates the interest levels.
Blessed with a smooth swing and a deft touch, Manassero was a golfing prodigy, winning the British Amateur in 2009, the silver medal at the British Open for best amateur the same year, and also becoming No 1 amateur in the world.
By 2013, he had won four events on the European tour including the BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event on the tour, to move into the world's top 25.
Then came the career dip, which plunged him into self-doubt and ultimately retirement, albeit for only a few months while he assessed where to go with his life. He eventually decided to give golf another go, beginning his rebuild on the lowly Nordic Golf League and the Alps Tour, which is on the third tier of European golf.
His talent shone through and last year he sealed a return to the European Tour, with a win at the Jonsson Workwear Open in March being universally celebrated in the golf fraternity.
That helped to put him in a strong position to claim the end-of-season bonus of a PGA Tour card, and he heads to Dubai in fifth place among non-exempt players, behind Lawrence, Rasmus Hojgaard, Paul Waring – winner of last week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship – and Niklas Norgaard. Jesper Svensson, Thorbjorn Olesen, Rikuya Hoshino, Sebastian Soderberg and Jordan Smith make up the list, though the Tour says any non-exempt player in the 50-man field can, statistically, break into the top 10.
Robert MacIntyre is living proof of how life-changing that can be. He was one of the 10 to claim a PGA Tour card after last year’s DP World Tour Championship and he has blossomed, winning two big PGA events – the Canadian Open and the Scottish Open – and rising to a career-high 15th in the world in August.
“Career-changing, 100 per cent,” MacIntyre said on Tuesday. “I’ve now got to the top level of professional golf, the top 25 per cent of professional golfers.
"You can then pick your schedule and you’re in all the major events and you’re in all the top events you can play in and you can pick and choose, and that’s where you want to be. I think the majority of golfers out here have got that dream, as well.”
If Hojgaard secures his PGA Tour card, he will join his twin brother Nicolai in the United States.
The season-ending DP World Tour Championship starts on Thursday.
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
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Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Bernardo Silva 16', Sterling 57', Gundogan 79'
Bournemouth 1
Wilson 44'
Man of the match: Leroy Sane (Manchester City)
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Day 3, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.
Stat of the day - 2.56 Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the 16th opening partnership Pakistan have had in Tests in the past five years. That turnover at the top of the order – a new pair every 2.56 Test matches on average – is by far the fastest rate among the leading Test sides. Masood and Aslam put on 114 in their first alliance in Abu Dhabi.
The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.
if you go
The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.
The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
