Charl Schwartzel is given his green jacket by last year's Masters winner Phil Mickelson.
Charl Schwartzel is given his green jacket by last year's Masters winner Phil Mickelson.

Time of the super unknowns to pick up golf's majors



Behold the post-Masters smorgasbord. Choose your favourite factoid from that stirring tournament they have just played in Georgia.

Opt for the bolstered sizzle of the European Tour, entrenched at the hilt of an ever-globalising game. Or mull the landmark that of the four major trophies, US golfers hold zero.

Note the eccentric little accompanying fact that England's band of sublime nibblers - Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Paul Casey, Ian Poulter - also hold zero. Throw in that the US and England combined hold two fewer trophies than previously anonymous farm kids from South Africa.

Bemoan, if you will, that while the young brigade of South Africans owes much to the 41-year-old Ernie Els for his example and his golf programme in his homeland, both Trevor Immelman (2008) and Charl Schwartzel (2011) have won the Masters while Els somehow has not. His five-year run from 2000 of second, tied for sixth, tied for fifth, tied for sixth and second looks retrospectively aching.

Apparently this has never been the fairest world.

For my choice, though, I move down to this portion here: what a knack recent majors have shown for churning out obscure blokes who end up lifting trophies.

Does this tell us anything? It might just.

One of the worst majors, the rain-haunted 2009 US Open on Long Island in New York, gave us Lucas Glover, whose 11 prior majors brought six cuts and zero real contention with one tie for 20th, one tie for 27th and three sub-40ths.

The 2009 PGA in Minnesota presented YE Yang, whose unknown inner-fibre proved sturdy when he ignored Tiger Woods's Sunday aura. His seven prior majors: tied for 30th, tied for 47th, five cuts.

Come the 2010 British Open at St Andrews, and it was dominated by Louis Oosthuizen, a then-27-year-old South African known only to the most helpless, hopeless fanatics. So barren had been his previous major record - seven cuts and one tie for 73rd - that when picturing it you could almost spot lizards scampering across.

Now here went the 2011 Masters, and here comes Schwartzel, 26 and playing the tournament for only the second time after dotting various majors since 2003. Of the 16 he had graced, he suffered seven cuts, but did assemble a commendable 2010 that went T-30, T-16, T-14, T-18 in the majors.

While that output requires exacting demand, it does not necessarily foretell becoming the first person to win the Masters by birdieing holes Nos 69 through to 72.

Now in some circles, a four-day drama that spits out a champion recognisable only to next of kin qualifies as a downer. While many of us revere golf for its nerve-testing ruthlessness in gorgeous settings, many more go rapt for its stars - and, this century, star.

Thus the exceeding roars on Sunday as Woods ascended the board.

In some way, though, golf has undergone a tricky equation since Woods won the Masters by 12 strokes in 1997. It became the domain of a transcending star.

So a theory might go that the Woods tide lifted the boats, took the game to deeper presence in new-found corners and gave aspiring youth an upgraded sense of what would be required of them if they wanted hardware.

But for Schwartzel's four eternal birdies, this Masters easily could have yielded as champion Jason Day, the pup whose three majors in his life have gone T-60, T-10 and T-2. Playing a Sunday back nine at Augusta, Day proved so wilting that he ... dropped not a single stroke.

Woods made golf grow and wander the world, so in turn the world grew more capable, so in turn more people had rarefied skill and resolve, so in turn more people could win, so in turn some people sigh when the star cannot quite star.

A sage once said of the Kentucky Derby that it was that race he would study for weeks beforehand, pondering possibilities, ruminating on variables, gazing at charts, only to watch some horse traipsing toward the wire first and say, "Who's that?"

Golf has annexed that element more than ever through the last eight majors, so it can present a Masters deemed wide-open (with justification), but with reasonable talk circling around Phil Mickelson or Donald or Westwood or McIlroy or et al. Then it percolates for four highbrow days of elite testing and it brings us Charl Schwartzel, and you wonder just how many Woods-prone viewers can revel in the jaw-drop of four closing birdies on Sunday.

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Armies of Sand

By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
 

Five expert hiking tips
    Always check the weather forecast before setting off Make sure you have plenty of water Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon Wear appropriate clothing and footwear Take your litter home with you
Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi

  

 

 

 

Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.

 
Results

4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Emblem Storm, Oisin Murphy (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).

4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Wildman Jack, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill.

5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.

6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.

6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Matterhorn, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.

7.30pm: Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Loxley, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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