Rory McIlroy's hopes of retaining his Australian Open title look to have sunk without trace after a woeful third round left him well adrift of the leading pack.
Two 69s had left the world No 1 firmly in contention to defend the crown he won in thrilling style last year, but he has been some way short of his best in Sydney this week.
That was evident on Saturday as a 76 left him on one-over-par overall, six shots adrift of leading trio Brett Rumford, Jordan Spieth and Greg Chalmers.
Despite being level par after eight holes – when he was joint leader – with a bogey at the fourth immediately followed up by a birdie at the next, McIlroy’s round fell apart just before the turn.
He found the rough on the ninth and struggled to dig his way out en route to a triple bogey seven and he then made a double bogey six at the 10th to tumble down the leaderboard.
He birdied the next but another pair of bogeys, at the 13th and 16th, dropped him further back.
A birdie at the last meant the Northern Irishman at least ended on a positive note going into the final round, but the damage had long since been done.
McIlroy won the title at the Australian Golf Club 12 months ago on the 72nd hole, where he pipped world No 3 Adam Scott, who is currently one shot off the lead after his 69.
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UNpaid bills:
Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN budget in 2019
USA – $1.055 billion
Brazil – $143 million
Argentina – $52 million
Mexico – $36 million
Iran – $27 million
Israel – $18 million
Venezuela – $17 million
Korea – $10 million
Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN peacekeeping operations in 2019
USA – $2.38 billion
Brazil – $287 million
Spain – $110 million
France – $103 million
Ukraine – $100 million
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Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
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- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
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Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
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Southampton 0
Manchester City 1 (Sterling 16')
Man of the match: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
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The jiu-jitsu men’s team: Faisal Al Ketbi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Yahia Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Obaid Al Nuaimi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Mansoori, Saeed Al Mazroui, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Qubaisi, Salem Al Suwaidi, Khalfan Belhol, Saood Al Hammadi.
Women’s team: Mouza Al Shamsi, Wadeema Al Yafei, Reem Al Hashmi, Mahra Al Hanaei, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Hessa Thani, Salwa Al Ali.
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Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
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Second leg, February 27
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
