Bigness can shun golf in February as the leaderboards of lucrative tournaments can teem with strangers known only to next of kin and perhaps not even to some of their cousins.
It is not the fault of these men that the public is too busy describing on Facebook what they had for dinner to learn the golfers' names and appreciate their rare talent. It just counts as another signal of an imperfect world.
So when a golf tournament gets bigness in February, still months from the gravitas of the spring-and-summer majors, that tournament can call itself fortunate. And when a tournament has a 10-minute moment like the one the Dubai Desert Classic had yesterday, well, that makes for one rare February Saturday at the course.
As the round wound down, suddenly everybody trying to solve chronic issues on the putting green gawked upward en masse at the big screen to witness a crescendo and a Tiger Woods fist-pump - about a "5" on the old Woods Fist Pumpometer - after his birdie putt slid in on No 18 and brought tighter contention on a day when he once trailed by eight.
Then while he took a fresh turn as a comic beneath the grandstand - "Eighteen pars," he cracked of his wild round with only eight of them - the television monitor showed Sergio Garcia in the wilderness and oases around No 17.
He appeared to be out there in the sand somewhere in need of a compass and a pith helmet. As it happened, he would commit both double-bogey and eloquence when he said, "Apparently the odds of hitting an eight-inch-wide pond from 340 yards are bigger than I thought."
And then to complete the moment, just off to the side of the stand where the No 17 tee sort of cowers against the edge of the grandstand back wall, Rory McIlroy stood chatting with spectators mashed against the little wall just behind the tee box.
Garcia tried to figure it out and "hit a trunk" as he would put it; McIlroy and his playing partner, Thomas "Hair" Aiken, waited to tee-off on the reachable par 4; and McIlroy chatted.
And he kept chatting. No imaginary barrier between himself and his viewers. Just a thoroughly enviable 21-year-old golf pro standing there chit-chatting. So then the way cleared and Aiken drove and McIlroy stopped chatting and turned around and boomed a sonnet of a drive that thrilled the masses.
Some cowboy, that guy. Within the 10 minutes, Garcia had come back to the pack, Woods had come forward and McIlroy had held together enough from a garish start that their scores had congealed all within one shot of each other. And with the populous parade of Hansens and "Hair" Aikens and Quiroses around there, they showed how you bring bigness to February.
First, you take Woods out of the United States and relocate him briefly to the hotter tour. Then you have the famed Garcia finding himself and answering his official 10-millionth lifetime question about his putting. Figure in Lee Westwood, nibbling nearby. And then already, so early in McIlroy's life out on the European Tour, it helps hugely to have McIlroy.
Even if you do not have the reigning Tour champion Martin Kaymer, who found Dubai less agreeable than Abu Dhabi with his 14-par, four-bogey 76 that sank him to a paltry even par, that's all right, if you have McIlroy.
McIlroy won here two years ago; he won in North Carolina on the Second Fiddle Tour last year; and he has the abundant confidence to state plausibly that he should have won more.
Strictly on statistics, some reasonable sorts might omit him from the bigness brigade just yet.
But this is where you insert the charisma factor, the fact that McIlroy comes to us loaded with that charisma thing they call "it" - the infectious chat-then-belt enchantment of it all.
He shies not from his own expectations, and his own expectations rate steep.
He speaks none of that 21-and-learning gobbledygook. He thinks he should win big things.
Yesterday, he admitted he has let rounds get away from him in the past - especially at the British Open last year – and was delighted that did not happen again in Dubai.
So here, as he steeled from his bogey-bogey-bogey start, and as he recovered similarly from early duress on Friday, he is a welcome part of any afternoon of bigness. Already. At 21.
Besides, if you can harrumph at a guy who chats it up at the tee box and then turns around and gives it a blast while jockeying for the lead, well, then you might just need to cheer up in general.
cculpepper@thenational.ae
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30-December 2, at The Sevens, Dubai
Gulf Under 19
Pool A – Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jumeirah College Tigers, Dubai English Speaking School 1, Gems World Academy
Pool B – British School Al Khubairat, Bahrain Colts, Jumeirah College Lions, Dubai English Speaking School 2
Pool C - Dubai College A, Dubai Sharks, Jumeirah English Speaking School, Al Yasmina
Pool D – Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Ain Amblers, Deira International School
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
The Equaliser 2
Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
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Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
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Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
HOW TO WATCH
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Twitter: @thenationalnews
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TikTok: @thenationalnews
Dunki
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
