Period between PGA season’s finish and restart was blink of an eye, writes Steve Elling
One of the PGA Tour's major broadcast entities on Sunday will televise a highlights package that centres on the 2013 season, with segments on Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Adam Scott, among other breakout stars.
It is a half-week too late.
The 2013/14 season will have started three days earlier, at an event called the Frys.com Open, situated about an hour south of San Francisco, depending on traffic.
There will be zero traffic headed in that direction from the sport’s heavy hitters, which puts the tour back at square one in terms of its season-opening credibility.
The Fry’s event begins Thursday, which means the break between seasons lasted all of two weeks.
While the tour will take a six-week hiatus around the Christmas holidays, the period between the season’s official finish and reconstituted restart was the blink of an eye.
The top-ranked player in the field is world No 30 Hideki Matsuyama, a newly minted US tour member.
Have the palpitations begun?
After some harmonised grousing from stars such as Phil Mickelson and Woods that the season was too long – one of the rare times they have agreed on anything – the FedEx Cup series was conjured up six years ago, giving top players a reason to bail out of the season in September.
The autumn tournaments remained on the official schedule, but were positioned as marginalised events offering smaller purses, and broadcast on cable television.
Not much has changed, except that the season opener is even weaker.
Woods, for instance, is not expected to play an official event in the United States again until January and will chase appearance fees this autumn in China and Turkey. Thus, the six autumn US events, with the exception of the World Golf Championships event in China, still elicit all the goose bumps of a pre-season American football friendly.
For years, the US tour drew criticism for staging the weakest season-opener among American sports.
The field at Hawaii’s Tournament of Champions in early January is limited to players who won the previous season, though Mickelson and Woods rarely turned up.
Still, it looks like an all-star game compared to this week.
Convincing fans to wrap their arms around a wraparound restart? It is an even tougher opening-act ticket to sell.
selling@thenational.ae
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
List of alleged parties
- May 15 2020: Boris Johnson is said to have attended a Downing Street pizza party
- 27 Nov 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
- Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson
- Dec 13 2020: Mr Johnson and his then-fiancee Carrie Symonds throw a flat party
- Dec 14 2020: Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative Party headquarters
- Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
- Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The biog
Fast facts on Neil Armstrong’s personal life:
- Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio
- He earned his private pilot’s license when he was 16 – he could fly before he could drive
- There was tragedy in his married life: Neil and Janet Armstrong’s daughter Karen died at the age of two in 1962 after suffering a brain tumour. She was the couple’s only daughter. Their two sons, Rick and Mark, consulted on the film
- After Armstrong departed Nasa, he bought a farm in the town of Lebanon, Ohio, in 1971 – its airstrip allowed him to tap back into his love of flying
- In 1994, Janet divorced Neil after 38 years of marriage. Two years earlier, Neil met Carol Knight, who became his second wife in 1994
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
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The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
