“The emotions were difficult, because I don’t trust computers,” Fleetwood said.
“Even when everything had finished, it was so difficult to get up or down. I felt for Justin a lot, and seeing him when he came in, how gracious he was, shows a lot about his character.
“The whole week, I have never done anything like this before.”
This was an unusual final day. The Race to Dubai is usually settled by its victor powering over the line in domineering fashion.
The tournament’s history started with a bang in 2009 when Lee Westwood won it, to leapfrog the history-chasing young buck Rory McIlroy to the Race title. McIlroy had hardly surrendered without a fight. He finished third at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Since then, the Northern Irishman has twice clinched the overall money list title by winning the climax in Dubai.
Rose and Fleetwood, by contrast, appeared to be saying: “No, after you, sir.”
Fleetwood, who had shown such pluck and courage by bouncing back in Rounds 2 and 3 after a horror start on Thursday, basically fell over the finish line. His 2-over final-round 74 gave him a tournament total of 11-under, good enough for a tie for 21st.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat, his final-round playing partner, who finished tied for second behind the rookie winner Jon Rahm, congratulated him on the 18th green. “We’ll see,” Fleetwood replied.
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Because it was around that time that the wheels were coming off his compatriot’s challenge.
Maybe Rose just ran out of steam, after a remarkable run to get to this point. He had won his previous two tournaments before arriving in Dubai, and appeared set fair for a hat-trick, before stumbling down the home straight.
Holding the lead, and having not dropped a shot in the past 29 holes, Rose proceeded to make three bogeys between 12 and 16, thus harpooning his chances.
“Everything was in hand,” Rose said. “Then I hit a poor shot into the water [at the par-5 14th]. That ultimately put me in chasing mode, then it was tough to make something happen.”
Fleetwood has left the UAE with trophies at both the start and end of this season, having won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January.
His rise to becoming the Tour’s top player was not universally foreseen, not least by the player himself. He conceded he had been “scared” of playing as recently as 18 months ago, when his form had dived.
“Turned up the [Thursday] morning, and I genuinely wanted to pull out because I didn't think I could get it off the first tee,” Fleetwood recalled of playing at the PGA Championship in the summer of 2016.
“I was embarrassed how I was hitting it. In all honesty I was scared of what I was going to do.”
Now, though, the sky is the limit. “I think we are just about to find out how good Tommy Fleetwood is,” said Rahm, the DP World Tour Championship winner.
Fleetwood is hoping he can repay the faith. “My ultimate goal in life is to be the best player in the world,” he said.
“That will always be the same. Whether I achieve it or not is another thing, but I'll always strive for that.”
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Hoffenheim (11.30pm)
Saturday
Hertha Berlin v RB Leipzig (6.30pm)
Schalke v Fortuna Dusseldof (6.30pm)
Mainz v Union Berlin (6.30pm)
Paderborn v Augsburg (6.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund (9.30pm)
Sunday
Borussia Monchengladbach v Werder Bremen (4.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
SC Freiburg v Eintracht Frankfurt (9on)
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
