TURNBERRY // Henrik Stenson was fuming at the end of his third round after striking a spectator with his tee shot to the 18th hole and incurring a double-bogey six.
Swede Stenson, who is based in Dubai, was level par at the time and in with a decent chance of coming out of the pack this afternoon to make a strong challenge for his first major title. Now, he reckons, he may have lost too much ground on the leaders.
"The crowd were too close down the right hand side of the fairway," complained Stenson, whose drive struck a middle-aged man flush on the head and bounced back in the wrong direction.
"I'm not happy with how far in they let the crowd come in," added Stenson, who contacted Peter Dawson, secretary of the Royal & Ancient organising body, to register his dissatisfaction. "The spectator almost suffers concussion and I lose 40 metres in distance. My chances of victory are now slim."
The unfortunate ricochet meant the long-hitting Stenson could not go for the green with his second shot to the 461-yard closing hole and he left himself a more difficult third than he would have liked, before compounding his misery with three putts.
"I thought I was playing well on the back nine and then this happens," concluded Stenson, winner of 12 professional titles including two in the Gulf Region and this year's prestigious PGA Players' Championship - the so-called fifth major - at Sawgrass, Florida. A par at that final hole would have left Stenson alongside American Bryce Molder, who made giant strides up the leaderboard with what, in the conditions, was a splendid 67.
"It has been a lifelong dream to play in an Open here," said Molder. "I love the way the golf is played here."
wjohnson@thenational.ae
EXPATS
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, Ji-young Yoo, Brian Tee, Jack Huston
Rating: 4/5
FINAL SCORES
Fujairah 130 for 8 in 20 overs
(Sandy Sandeep 29, Hamdan Tahir 26 no, Umair Ali 2-15)
Sharjah 131 for 8 in 19.3 overs
(Kashif Daud 51, Umair Ali 20, Rohan Mustafa 2-17, Sabir Rao 2-26)
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
MEDIEVIL (1998)
Developer: SCE Studio Cambridge
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation, PlayStation 4 and 5
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya
Directors: Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Dharmendra, Dimple Kapadia, Rakesh Bedi
Rating: 4/5
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo hybrid
Power: 680hp
Torque: 1,020Nm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.5L/100km
On sale: Early 2024
Price: From Dh530,000 (estimate)
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets