If there is one thing golf spectators in the UAE have learnt watching Rory McIlroy grow up on their fairways over the past decades, it is that he really struggles to do boring.
Memories of the Northern Irishman flirting with danger – often lancing his own chances of a title in the process – in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are legion.
There was the final hole splashdown that set up Viktor Hovland to win the 2022 Dubai Desert Classic. And surrendering a seemingly formidable position to give Li Haotong the title around the same track.
There was the time he went into 'Incredible Hulk' mode and ripped his shirt after giving up a two-shot lead to lose in the final round of the 2021 DP World Tour Championship.
Even right at the start of this year, he presented the Dubai Invitational at the Creek to Tommy Fleetwood on a platter with a faulty final hole.
Or, on the other side of the ledger, those times when he has thrilled on his way to gold. Holing from 40ft for the “best bogey of my career” at the penultimate hole of the 2015 DP World Tour Championship to deprive Andy Sullivan the win.
And when he kept enough of a check on his emotions to see off the challenge of Patrick Reed at the Classic in 2023.
It is the central allure of McIlroy: why bother with boring when you can be box office instead?
And yet he could quite feasibly render the first two-legged finale to a DP World Tour season a complete anti-climax by winning at Yas Links this weekend.
The world No 3 starts the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship with a lead of around 1,600 points in the Race to Dubai. Win around Yas, and it would create an unassailable lead ahead of the season finale at Jumeirah Golf Estates next week.
Even for someone so well versed in sporting drama, that sounds appealing.
“If I go out and win this week, obviously it makes it a bit boring next week,” McIlroy said. “But I won’t find it boring. It will be lovely.”
If he does, as seems likely, claim the Race to Dubai at whichever point over the next two weeks, he will equal Seve Ballesteros’ tally of six order of merit titles. That leaves only Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight, accrued between 1993 and 2005, to surmount.
McIlroy acknowledged claiming that record is a driving ambition for him, but it is not the only one.
“I'm a European player. I would like to go down as the most successful European of all time,” McIlroy, 35, said.
“Obviously Race to Dubai wins would count to that but also major championships, and hopefully I’ve got a few more Ryder Cups ahead of me as well. I think that is a goal that's quite attainable over the next 10 years.”
McIlroy has won titles all over the world, but the UAE had been something of the bedrock of his career. His first title on tour was the 2009 Classic at Emirates Golf Club, a tournament he has now won a record four times in all.
“I first came to the UAE as a 16-year-old amateur and played in the Desert Classic,” he said.
“Since that year, I think I've come back every year since. I've been coming to this region for nearly 20 years, and got a lot of friends here. I lived in the UAE for four years, as well. It is just a very familiar and comfortable place for me.
“When you have those good feelings, it’s probably a little easier to play good golf, and I've had success here. I think that's made me want to come back each and every year.
“They are some of the strongest events we have on the DP World Tour and I want to come back, and not only support them, but come back and win them. Because I know every time I come here and tee it up, I have a good chance to win because I'm so familiar and comfortable with the golf courses as well, maybe apart from this one.”
McIlroy will start his pursuit of a first title at Yas Links when he goes off at 9.23am on Thursday alongside his two closest challengers for the order of merit, Thriston Lawrence and Rasmus Hojgaard.
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MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on Quran memorisation:
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Company%20profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
FIXTURES
Fixtures for Round 15 (all times UAE)
Friday
Inter Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Saturday
Atalanta v Verona (6pm)
Udinese v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Juventus (11.45pm)
Sunday
Lecce v Genoa (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (6pm)
SPAL v Brescia (6pm)
Torino v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Parma (9pm)
Bologna v AC Milan (11.45pm)
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
PAKISTAN v SRI LANKA
Twenty20 International series
Thu Oct 26, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
Fri Oct 27, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
Sun Oct 29, 3rd T20I, Lahore
Tickets are available at www.q-tickets.com
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
2019 ASIA CUP POTS
Pot 1
UAE, Iran, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia
Pot 2
China, Syria, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Qatar, Thailand
Pot 3
Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Palestine, Oman, India, Vietnam
Pot 4
North Korea, Philippines, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, Turkmenistan
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
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