Eric Cole, still chasing a first career win, charged to the top of the US PGA Championship first round leaderboard ahead of a pack of major winners on Thursday before play was halted due to darkness, bringing the curtain down on a wild day at Oak Hill.
Starting on the back nine, the PGA Tour rookie mixed six birdies with a bogey to reach five-under par with four holes to play. Former US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau holds the overnight clubhouse lead after carding a four-under 66.
Lurking a shot further back on three-under are a pair of Masters winners in world number two Scottie Scheffler and LIV Golf hope Dustin Johnson, along with Canadian Corey Conners.
"It was a good day, five-under through the holes that I played was good," said Cole.
"I played solid for the most part and got a couple of good breaks when I needed them, so it was a good day."
From scores to temperatures it was a day of highs and lows as a treacherous East Course bared its teeth with only 19 in the 156 player field getting under par.
An overnight frost delayed the start of play by nearly two hours, with golfers and spectators bundled up in wool hats, gloves and winter coats as action finally got underway.
By mid-morning the freezing temperatures and frost had given way to sunny skies before an evening chill arrived with 33 golfers still on the course.
World No 1 Jon Rahm wrestled with the gnarly rough and crater-like bunkers, the Masters champion slumping to a six-over 76 to leave him 11 shots off the pace.
Rahm, who has made the cut at each of the last 14 major championships, the longest current streak of its kind, was undone by an ugly six-hole stretch around the turn that included five bogeys.
"Couldn't find the fairway and the fairways that I missed cost me bogeys," said Rahm.
The Spaniard was not alone.
US Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick also had a 76, as did Australian Jason Day, the 2015 PGA Championship winner who arrived at Oak Hill riding the momentum from his Byron Nelson victory on Sunday.
But at least they avoided being waist-deep in mud like Tom Kim, who waded into a swamp in search of his ball only to get stuck.
The South Korean eventually managed to crawl out before washing himself off in a nearby creek and finishing with a three-over 73.
DeChambeau, who missed last year's PGA Championship as he was recovering from surgery on his left hand, started on the back nine and reached the turn at one under.
From there he went bogey-free and added three birdies to put a LIV Golf member top of the leaderboard.
Scheffler also began on the back nine and reached the turn at one-under before adding birdies at the par-three fifth and the par-four eighth, where his approach shot settled three feet from the cup, en route to his first bogey-free round in a major.
"It was a grind today," said Scheffler. "The golf course is very tough. And I think these are probably the easiest conditions we are going to have all week."
World No 3 Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut at last month's Masters, got off to a slow start and reached the turn at three-over but steadied the ship coming home and finished his day with a one-over 71.
"Messy," McIlroy said of his round. "Didn't hit the ball well at all. Thought I did really well to shoot one-over in the end ... but I am going to need to play a lot better than that if I want to feature in this tournament."
Brooks Koepka, who finished joint runner-up at the Masters, opened with a 72 while Jordan Spieth, making his seventh attempt at completing the coveted career Grand Slam of golf's four majors, shot a 73.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
