Tiger Woods, the world No 1, has seemingly taken another indefinite break after turning up at Augusta to play the Masters.
Tiger Woods, the world No 1, has seemingly taken another indefinite break after turning up at Augusta to play the Masters.
Tiger Woods, the world No 1, has seemingly taken another indefinite break after turning up at Augusta to play the Masters.
Tiger Woods, the world No 1, has seemingly taken another indefinite break after turning up at Augusta to play the Masters.

Different strokes for the top two at Augusta


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No sooner had Tiger Woods completed one of the most bizarre rounds of his career, golf's most famous and most controversial character launched another guessing game which will exasperate pundits all around the world. Indiscretions off the course have been coming thick and fast for Woods since the bombshell first dropped about his marital infidelity five months ago, but the world No 1 had until Sunday night been regarded as a model of tactfulness in going about the business that has made him rich and famous.

To declare, however, that he will now begin another indeterminate period of self-imposed exile from the game to follow the 144 days of inactivity leading to his blockbuster of a comeback in the Masters took some of the gloss off one of the most heart-warming celebrations of recent years. Striding down the 18th fairway of a thronging Augusta National as Woods was outlining his plans was an emotional Phil Mickelson, safe in the knowledge that a drilled second shot to within 15 feet of the 72nd hole of a thrilling championship had guaranteed him a third green jacket and an emotional embrace with his sick wife, Amy, outside the scorers' hut.

That was the tear-jerking moment the sporting world should have been digesting yesterday, not the gut-wrenching thought of when Woods would next strike a ball in as much anger as he showed in Sunday's round of five bogeys, four birdies and two eagles. Mickelson's personal problems - his wife and mother-in-law have both been diagnosed with breast cancer - have been overshadowed by those of Woods. The fear of losing loved ones through no fault of his led to Mickelson enduring a barren spell in his professional life to match that of the absent Woods, but there is no better way for Mickelson to put those distractions on hold than a journey down Magnolia Drive to prepare for his favourite major.

Mickelson is more at home at Augusta than anywhere else in the world and it showed over four captivating days as "Lefty" rediscovered the form that had brought two previous triumphs and a cluster of near misses. The thrill of back-to-back eagles - only the third time such a feat had been achieved in Masters history - midway through Saturday's pivotal third round was the catalyst for the Mickelson surge to victory from a position five strokes behind England's Lee Westwood with only 24 holes remaining.

That scoring burst - he was inches away from a third successive eagle at the 15th hole that day - enabled Mickelson to go out last with Westwood on a tense final afternoon and bring his far greater big event experience into play against a rival who continues to knock on the door at major championships but continues to see that door slammed in his face. Westwood, by a distance Europe's top player on form, should win a major one day but must now be fearing that day will never come after adding this frustrating runner-up position to his third places in the US Open, British Open and US PGA championships.

Woods should be commended for remaining in contention for a 15th major title for so long, considering the evident rustiness of his game and the irritating unreliability of his hitherto devastating driver. Woods, untypically careless on the greens on several occasions, still proved, to nobody's great surprise, that he remains the one to beat in the tournaments that really matter to him as he chases Jack Nicklaus's record haul of 18 major titles.

Thankfully for the good of this great game, there were players out there capable of denying him a fairy-tale comeback and, better still, Mickelson was the one who did it. wjohnson@thenational.ae

The Saudi Cup race card

1 The Jockey Club Local Handicap (TB) 1,800m (Dirt) $500,000

2 The Riyadh Dirt Sprint (TB) 1,200m (D) $1.500,000

3 The 1351 Turf Sprint 1,351m (Turf) $1,000,000

4 The Saudi Derby (TB) 1600m (D) $800,000

5 The Neom Turf Cup (TB) 2,100m (T) $1,000,000

6 The Obaiya Arabian Classic (PB) 2,000m (D) $1,900,000

7 The Red Sea Turf Handicap (TB) 3,000m (T) $2,500,000

8 The Saudi Cup (TB) 1,800m (D) $20,000,000

The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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It Was Just an Accident

Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

SCHEDULE

December 8: UAE v USA (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)

December 9: USA v Scotland (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)

December 11: UAE v Scotland (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)

December 12: UAE v USA (ICC Academy Oval 1)

December 14: USA v Scotland (ICC Academy Oval 1)

December 15: UAE v Scotland (ICC Academy Oval 1)

All matches start at 10am

 

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

While you're here
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Results

3pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,400m, Winner: Lancienegaboulevard, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Fawzi Nass (trainer).

3.35pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m, Winner: Al Mukhtar Star, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.

4.10pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.

4.45pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Speedy Move, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar.

5.20pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Moqarrar, Dane O’Neill, Erwan Charpy.

5.55pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Dolman, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

TRAINING FOR TOKYO

A typical week's training for Sebastian, who is competing at the ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon on March 8-9:

  • Four swim sessions (14km)
  • Three bike sessions (200km)
  • Four run sessions (45km)
  • Two strength and conditioning session (two hours)
  • One session therapy session at DISC Dubai
  • Two-three hours of stretching and self-maintenance of the body

ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon

For more information go to www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.

Fight card

1. Featherweight 66kg: Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)

2. Lightweight 70kg: Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)

3. Welterweight 77kg:Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)

4. Lightweight 70kg: Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)

5. Featherweight 66kg: Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)

6. Catchweight 85kg: Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)

7. Featherweight 66kg: Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)

8. Catchweight 73kg: Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Ahmed Abdelraouf of Egypt (EGY)

9.  Featherweight 66kg: Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)

10. Catchweight 90kg: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

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