Positive round has Rory dreaming



Rory McIlroy has this mental picture of himself winning the individual title at this week's Dunhill Links championship and capturing the team event with his father, Gerry, on what will be Gerry's 50th birthday. He knows he is asking a bit much but both feats are eminently possible. "I must stop myself from looking too far ahead but, especially with the last round being played over St Andrews, it would be huge, absolutely fantastic," said the winner of this year's Dubai Desert Classic. Yesterday, McIlroy took the early lead in the delayed third round by adding a 69 at Kingsbarns to earlier scores of 68 at Carnoustie and 65 at St Andrews. It was a performance to leave him on the same 14-under par mark as Luke Donald and Darren Clarke, both of whom had four or so holes to play. Because of the amateur playing companions they have at their sides, the professionals are mostly a tad out of their comfort zones this week. That, though, does not begin to apply to McIlroy, whose father has not only passed on a wealth of golfing rhythm to his son but at one point had three jobs on the go in order to fund his sorties to the annual junior age-group championships in Florida. It was on one of those Florida forays that Rory won the World Under 10 championships. Gerry, who looks every inch the two-handicap golfer he used to be until he virtually stopped playing to concentrate on Rory, left his best till the last hole yesterday. Having knocked his approach inside Rory's, he holed from 15 feet for the closing birdie which took the pair to 22-under par. Rory's front-half 36 yesterday was so up and down as to suggest that Saturday's 50 kph gusts were still in full swing. He had an eagle at the third but promptly dropped three shots in his next five holes. His homeward half, on the other hand, was steadiness personified - all pars and birdies. Though he had found the greens tough to putt, presumably because a fear of more gusts had prompted the tournament staff to leave them uncut, McIlroy has the feeling that his touch will be back at St Andrews. He has nothing but good memories to fuel him over the Old Course. Two years ago, he finished third in this Dunhill Links championship in what was only his third outing as a professional. And on Friday, of course, he had that 65.

sports@thenational.ae

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School counsellors on mental well-being

Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.

Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.

Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.

“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.

“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.

“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.

“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”

Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.

The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.

At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.

“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.

“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.

"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”

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RESULTS

Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.

Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.

Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.

Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.

Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.

Catchweight 80kg​​​​​​​
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.

Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.

Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.

Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.

Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.

Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.