Second-round bogeys cost Woods the lead

PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY // Tiger Woods made the turn at eight-under par yesterday and held a one-shot lead midway through the second round of the Barclays Classic - but soon ran into the sort of trouble that has left him hanging precariously on to his No 1 world ranking.

Woods, who began the day in first place for the first time 335 days, started on the back nine and birdied the 11th and 18th holes to take sole possession of the lead. But bogeys on the second and fifth holes were enough to send him plummeting down the leader board, and after 15 holes he was in a 10-player tie for sixth place. In addition to Woods taking his first lead in almost a year, Thursday's opening round of 65 was the first time in 12 rounds, dating to the opening round at St Andrews six weeks ago, that he broke 70.

It was also the first time since the 2006 British Open that he hit a three-wood on every par 5, an example of Woods choosing to navigate his way smartly around Ridgewood Country Club in soft conditions. "Being first off with fresh greens, everybody in our group was making putts on the front nine," he said after Thursday's round. "You had to get it today, especially with the wind being down early, and then we had fresh greens so it was good to be out early.

"I just played today. I went out and played, made a few tweaks on the range with my swing. Started off warming up not very good at all. I was hitting it all over the lot but made a couple of tweaks and found what I have been working on. I hit it good today. "It feels good to be able to control my ball all day like this. I haven't done that." He was asked if he felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, after his divorce from his ex-wife Elin was finalised earlier this week.

"I can't really say that's the case," Woods said. "As far as golf, it was nice to put it together." Adam Scott, who was one shot behind Woods after the first round, said he did not think Ridgewood would serve up a 65 to anyone after playing the course earlier in the week. "Seeing some good scores this morning made me change my mind," he said. That one of those scores belonged to Woods was hardly a surprise. "For him to piece things together can't be too hard," Scott said. "He's very good."

The 65 was Woods's lowest score in 46 rounds, dating to a 62 in the BMW Championship last year. And for Woods, the timing could not have been better. Only the top 100 in the FedEx Cup standings advance to the second round of the play-offs next week in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Woods at least needs to make the cut, then finish in the middle of the pack to stay in the play-offs. He had a better solution.

"I figure if I win, I should be OK," Woods said. For one of the few times this year, he gave himself ample reason to believe that. * Agencies

A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

Tips for taking the metro

- set out well ahead of time

- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines

- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on

- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai

Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

Captain Marvel

Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn

4/5 stars

U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES

UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh

UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Tips for newlyweds to better manage finances

All couples are unique and have to create a financial blueprint that is most suitable for their relationship, says Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial. He offers his top five tips for couples to better manage their finances.

Discuss your assets and debts: When married, it’s important to understand each other’s personal financial situation. It’s necessary to know upfront what each party brings to the table, as debts and assets affect spending habits and joint loan qualifications. Discussing all aspects of their finances as a couple prevents anyone from being blindsided later.

Decide on the financial/saving goals: Spouses should independently list their top goals and share their lists with one another to shape a joint plan. Writing down clear goals will help them determine how much to save each month, how much to put aside for short-term goals, and how they will reach their long-term financial goals.

Set a budget: A budget can keep the couple be mindful of their income and expenses. With a monthly budget, couples will know exactly how much they can spend in a category each month, how much they have to work with and what spending areas need to be evaluated.

Decide who manages what: When it comes to handling finances, it’s a good idea to decide who manages what. For example, one person might take on the day-to-day bills, while the other tackles long-term investments and retirement plans.

Money date nights: Talking about money should be a healthy, ongoing conversation and couples should not wait for something to go wrong. They should set time aside every month to talk about future financial decisions and see the progress they’ve made together towards accomplishing their goals.