There was the faintest false start to the first day of Ras Al Khaimah’s debut in golf's big league, as the DP World Tour arrived in the northern emirate on Thursday morning.
With the sun still yet to make a full appearance from behind the houses of Al Hamra Village, the first three-ball of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship presented by Phoenix Capital was ready to get started.
“On the tee from Austria, Lucas Nemecz,” said the announcer. Cue some awkward glances and wry grins. “No? OK, Marcel Schneider.”
The mistaken identity was forgivable. Some of the faces at the tour’s newest venue this week might not be quite as recognisable as those on show at That Other Tournament happening elsewhere in the Middle East at present.
The third player in the opening match was, though, familiar. At least for keen observers of the sport in the UAE. Even if he has been missing from the tour for the best part of five months due to a worrying health issue.
Sebastian Heisele is a German professional who was brought up in the UAE. The former Emirates Golf Club member brought his local knowledge to bear with a flawless opening round.
By the time he signed for a 7-under-par 65, Heisele was leading the tournament at Al Hamra Golf Club. It was an uplifting return to action for a player who has endured a problematic recent past.
Heisele’s star had appeared to be in the ascendant when he started the 2020 season by finishing in a tie for 21st at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, followed by a fine opening two rounds at the Dubai Desert Classic, played at his former home club.
He slumped over the final two days, though, and he traces back his ensuing problems to that tournament.
“I was there on Sunday in Dubai, thinking I had a decent week to start the year in Abu Dhabi,” Heisele, 33, said of that time two years ago.
“Then at the Classic I was sixth or seventh going into the weekend, which was decent up until that point, with home course advantage in a way.
“Come Sunday, I just felt like I was sat next to a ghost of myself. I couldn’t concentrate, wasn’t there at all, and didn’t know what I was doing really.
“I felt like that for much of [2020] as well after the break we had for the pandemic. Last year was the same. I couldn’t concentrate, I was nervous at times. I tried to get 10 hours of sleep per night, to hopefully feel good, but it just wasn’t there for me.
“That was obviously not to my advantage, but it is not to excuse last year’s scores. It was good to see that today went in the right direction.”
After speaking to “literally everybody I could find in Munich to try to find an answer for why I felt like I did,” Heisele had surgery to remove his thyroid last October. It was followed by four days in hospital, and weeks away from the golf course.
“There came a point where I thought I might be missing hormones or testosterone to try and get me going, and help me concentrate,” Heisele said.
“I had organs checked, but it all came back OK. I knew I had some nodules in my thyroid. The doctors said there would come a point when this could go cancerous, and you were not far off having this removed at some point during your life.”
The scar from the operation, where his neck meets his chest, is barely visible and he feels healed now.
Judged by his first day back on tour, his form is back, too. As a former resident of the UAE, he knows the course well, although he has yet to taste success round the 7,325 yard set up.
He finished 32nd then 33rd in appearances at the RAK Challenge on the Challenge Tour in 2016 and 2017, and he scarcely fared much better going further back, either.
Al Hamra Golf Club course guide
After a start he described as “spectacular” on Thursday, though, he is eyeing the possibility of adding his name to a different list.
“I don’t think it necessarily goes into what happened today but having been raised [in Dubai] I obviously have good connections here,” Heisele said.
“I saw the board in the clubhouse, the RAK Men’s Open. I would have played my fair share of those. I didn’t ever win it actually. I was busy looking for my name, but it didn’t pop up.
“Maybe I’ll be able to add my name on a different, more prestigious board that might be here in the future.”
MATCH INFO
Argentina 47 (Tries: Sanchez, Tuculet (2), Mallia (2), De La Fuente, Bertranou; Cons: Sanchez 5, Urdapilleta)
United States 17 (Tries: Scully (2), Lasike; Cons: MacGinty)
Leading all-time NBA scorers
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
Karl Malone 36,928
Kobe Bryant 33,643
Michael Jordan 32,292
LeBron James 31,425
Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
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UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
The biog
Name: Greg Heinricks
From: Alberta, western Canada
Record fish: 56kg sailfish
Member of: International Game Fish Association
Company: Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters
UK%20record%20temperature
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Company%20profile
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UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
The five pillars of Islam