Campbell's misery continues in Dubai



With it, a 10-foot eagle putt can be sunk at will: without it, a collapse is on the cards as soon as the ball is placed on the first tee. It's more important than any caddie and is as integral to a golfer's game as the clubs in his bag. Some players have it: others definitely do not. Confidence. In 2005, aged 36, New Zealand-born Michael Campbell held off a charging Tiger Woods at Pinehurst No 2 to win the US Open; it was a finale so dramatic that the New Zealand parliament went into recess so politicians could follow the closing stages. When he holed his putt on the 18th, he broke down in tears and, after being presented with his first major title, proclaimed the win would "completely change my whole career".

And so it did. He hasn't won a European Tour title since. Confidence is crucial in all sports, but in golf it is imperative players remain mentally strong. Campbell, despite the best efforts of his sports psychologist Josh Vanstiphout, has fallen to pieces. Immediately after his win in North Carolina, self-belief was soaring and he collected fifth and sixth-place finishes in the season's two remaining majors, the British Open and the PGA Championship, ending the year with just less than ?2.5 million (Dh12.5m) in career earnings. He followed his most successful season with three top-10 finishes in 2006 and 2007 and a third-place finish at the 2008 British Masters.

But such results have been quickly forgotten. A terrible 2009 saw Campbell compete in 22 tournaments yet fail to finish higher than 62nd and end the year with career earnings of less than ?20,000. Worryingly, 2010 has not started any better. In the season-opener in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago, Campbell, now 40, admitted to being at such a low he was ready to give it all up. He had finished 126 from a field of 126 - 27 shots behind his playing partner Peter Hanson. "There are days when I think about doing something else," he said afterwards.

In Doha last week, Campbell finished two rounds in nine-over par 153 and, yesterday in Dubai he missed the cut again after shooting 11-over after two days' play. It is the seventh straight time he has missed the cut and the 19th time he has failed to progress past the second round in his previous 26 tournaments - three of which he was forced to withdraw from. Watch him on the range and he looks entirely at ease, yet when he approaches that first tee, the confidence disappears. He has played the past two days alongside Colin Montgomerie and Louis Oosthuizen and looks a shadow of the man who hoisted aloft one of golf's most coveted trophies. Rather than personality and poise, his body language conveys a condemned man.

On Thursday's final hole, the still-popular player was approached by a woman collecting autographs for charity. With his eyes focused firmly on the ground below, he walked briskly past without acknowledgement; like a footballer arriving at a game with iPod headphones in his ears. Yet there were no wires in sight: Campbell was apparently tuned in to some inner miserable monologue. It seems a lack of confidence is not only stealing Campbell's golf game, it's stealing his character.

This year marks the end of Michael Campbell's exemptions from the US Masters and the British Open - perquisites of his Pinehurst win. From 2011 onwards he will have to endure the qualifying process again, yet that is what he had to do in 2005 to reach the US Open in the first place. Perhaps it's the best thing for him; to start from scratch. @Email:gmeenaghan@thenational.ae

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Unresolved crisis

Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.

Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.

The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.

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White Bears, Al Ain Theebs, Dubai Mighty Camels, Abu Dhabi Storms, Abu Dhabi Scorpions and Vipers

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

How to report a beggar

Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)

Dubai – Call 800243

Sharjah – Call 065632222

Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372

Ajman – Call 067401616

Umm Al Quwain – Call 999

Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411

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Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Results

Stage 7:

1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29

2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time

3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious

4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep

5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM

General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35

3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02

4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42

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Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
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Five healthy carbs and how to eat them

Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand

Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat  

Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar

Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices

Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants

Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique

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Three and a half stars

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Company name: Nybl 

Date started: November 2018

Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence

Initial investment: $500,000

Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)

Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up 

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Name: Infinite8

Based: Dubai

Launch year: 2017

Number of employees: 90

Sector: Online gaming industry

Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor

Allardyce's management career

Clubs (10) - Limerick (1991-1992), Perston North End (1992), Blackpool (1994-1996), Notts County (1997-1999), Bolton Wanderers (1999-2007), Newcastle United (2007-2008), Blackburn Rovers (2008-2010), West Ham United (2011-2015), Sunderland (2016), Crystal Palace (2016-2017)

Countries (1) - England (2016)

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

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Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

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Our legal consultants

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

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Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

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Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

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Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma

When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

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Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.

ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.

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THE SPECS

Engine: 4.4-litre V8

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 523hp

Torque: 750Nm

Price: Dh469,000

Results

Stage seven

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s

3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s

General Classification

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s

3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s

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Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km