One of the best loved features of the UAE sporting landscape will return after an extended absence this week when some of the leading golfers in the world tee it up at Yas Links.
Where has the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship been?
It is 22 months since the tournament last took place. The move from its traditional spot on the calendar came about because of a revamp to the DP World Tour (which was formerly known as the European Tour).
If the galleries at Yas Links this week find walking the course a little more taxing than in past editions of the championship, then there is a reason.
For the rest of its lifespan since its inception in 2006, the tournament was played at the start of the season, in the cooler temperatures of January. November in Abu Dhabi is generally four or five degrees warmer.
Why the switch?
The Tour revamp led to the creation of a new, two-tournament finale to the tour season. The DP World Tour Championship, at Jumeirah Golf Estates (JGE) next week, will still be where the order of merit winner is ultimately decided. But the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship has been moved to create a two-week play-off in the UAE.
What are the DP World Tour play-offs?
The Tour describe the new as “the final sprint of the 2024 Race to Dubai,” but it is more like a middle-distance race than a sprint now.
Since 2009, the leading players in the rankings vied for the final points on offer at the Earth Course in JGE, in a last push down the season’s home straight. Now there is an additional inflation of ranking points at the penultimate tournament of the season at Yas, too.
How does it work?
The top 70 available players in the Race to Dubai standings will tee it up at Yas, with the top 50 after that set for the season finale at JGE.
There are 9,000 ranking points on offer at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and 12,000 available at the DP World Tour Championship next week. The points are allocated based on finishing positions in the tournaments.
Who is winning at the moment?
Rory McIlroy tops the Race to Dubai standings ahead of the penultimate tournament, and might even claim a sixth Harry Vardon Trophy with a week to spare.
His nearest challengers, Thriston Lawrence and Rasmus Hojgaard, are some way back ahead of the start in Abu Dhabi.
Top five
1 Rory McIlroy, 4,532.33 points.
2 Thriston Lawrence, 2,959.94.
3 Rasmus Hojgaard, 2,612.05.
4 Billy Horschel, 2,480.00.
5 Tommy Fleetwood, 2,066.01.
Where is Victor Perez?
The Frenchman won the Falcon Trophy the last time the Abu Dhabi championship took place in January 2023, but he won’t be here to defend it.
Having won at Yas after a thrilling final day back then, Perez has since played more on the PGA Tour in the United States. As such, he played just eight ranking tournaments on the DP World Tour, and is ranking 142 in the Race to Dubai – which is more or less double the number he needed to be to feature in Abu Dhabi.
Tickets
General admission to the tournament at Yas is free via this link.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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MEYDAN CARD
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group One (PA) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,200m
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m
8.50pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group Two (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,600m
10pm Dubai Trophy Conditions (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m
10.35pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
The National selections:
6.30pm AF Alwajel
7.05pm Ekhtiyaar
7.40pm First View
8.15pm Benbatl
8.50pm Zakouski
9.25pm: Kimbear
10pm: Chasing Dreams
10.35pm: Good Fortune
The five pillars of Islam
The years Ramadan fell in May
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Match info
Manchester United 1 (Van de Beek 80') Crystal Palace 3 (Townsend 7', Zaha pen 74' & 85')
Man of the match Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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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)
FINAL RESULT
Sharjah Wanderers 20 Dubai Tigers 25 (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries: Gormley, Penalty
cons: Flaherty
Pens: Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries: O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons: Caldwell 2
Pens: Caldwell, Cross
