Rory McIlroy cannot begin to contemplate a career where he will be ineligible to have breakfast in the Masters Champions Locker Room at Augusta National.
McIlroy singled out Greg Norman and Ernie Els, who have both been denied such an opportunity and then witnessed compatriots who grew up idolising them succeed at Augusta.
It is why McIlroy desperately seeks to become the first Northern Irish golfer to be fitted with a green jacket.
“It has to be tough because you can look at someone like Greg Norman seeing Adam Scott win last year,” McIlroy said. “Then there’s Ernie, and he sees Trevor Immelman winning, he sees Charl Schwartzel win and he sees all these young South Africans playing so well, like Louis Oosthuizen going so close in a play-off against Bubba Watson.
“Ernie should have won in 2004 when Phil Mickelson birdied two of the last three. It’s why I’m determined, at 24, that I don’t want to get to that point when I’m 44. So that’s why it would be great to win one Masters sooner rather than later.
“It’s why I just cannot contemplate a career without a green jacket, as the Masters just stands out from the other majors because we go back to the same venue every year. And I’d be disappointed if I ended my career and wasn’t able to go up and have breakfast in the Champions Locker Room.”
McIlroy already has a bit of good news. A recent ice storm brought down the famed Eisenhower Tree, but it also felled the large overhanging branch down the left side of the 10th fairway that McIlroy collected during his gut-wrenching 2011 Masters meltdown.
He was told that the storm had brought down the huge branch from “Rory’s Tree” when he played a practice round last week.
“Whenever the members play Augusta there is a guy who has a beverage cart parked on the 10th tee and he mentioned it to me when I was up there Tuesday, before heading to Houston,” McIlroy said.
“He just said to me: ‘Oh that branch, it’s not there any more’ and then, when I looked, it was gone, broken off in the ice storm, and Augusta had to take it away.”
McIlroy has a bizarre statistic to back his hopes of winning. On the four occasions since 1997 that Tiger Woods has not contested a major – and the world No 1 is to miss the Masters because of back surgery – a golfer from the Emerald Isle has succeeded: Padraig Harrington at the 2008 British Open and 2008 PGA, McIlroy at the 2011 US Open and Darren Clarke at the 2011 British Open.
“That’s a good omen,” McIlroy said, smiling. “I’m not that superstitious but maybe it gives you an extra bit of ‘Oh, I might have a bit of an extra chance this week’.”
McIlroy arrived at Augusta after a confidence-lifting final round 65 to share seventh place in the Houston Open. It was his best round in America’s fourth-largest city in four appearances at Houston.
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The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,470,000 (est)
Engine 6.9-litre twin-turbo W12
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 626bhp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,350rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.0L / 100km
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
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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
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
