With three-eighths of its inaugural edition still to run, the jury still has plenty of time to reach a verdict on the DP World Tour play-offs.
Unless, perhaps, Paul Waring has the casting vote, in which case it will already be deemed the most resounding success imaginable.
Nobody has benefitted more from the new, two-legged finale to the tour season than the 39-year-old Dubai resident.
This time last week, it might still have been possible to regard him as a journeyman pro, even if he had just signed for an eight-under par 64 to start the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links.
In the time since, the Englishman has seen his bank balance swell, his trophy collection double, his ranking soar, and his ambitions transform out of sight.
Now it almost feels de rigueur for the new Abu Dhabi champ to be vying among the stars of the game at the top of a Rolex Series leaderboard.
After the first round of the DP World Tour Championship, he is placed third among the 50 players who made the cut for this restricted field tournament.
His opening day four-under-par 68 around Earth Course is just one shot behind the joint leaders, Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton. And he is ahead of the likes of Adam Scott, Billy Horschel and Shane Lowry, as well as a variety of other stars.
“Coming off last week, being able to come straight out of the blocks and get going again, I was really impressed with myself,” Waring said.
“[It has been the] first time dealing for me with a lot of media on a Tuesday and Wednesday. That is something that I’m not used to and something that hopefully I’ll have to get used to.
“It takes time and energy, so to be able to separate that and get on the golf course Thursday afternoon and go again, I'm really happy I was able to reset and get back into that flow state.”
Scoring on the opening day at the Earth Course was not as spectacular as at Yas last week, when the previous course record of 62 was matched twice, while Waring lowered it to 61 on the second day.
Waring was in the hottest match on the course, as Hatton was his playing partner. Even though the latter holds a share of the lead after Round 1, his trademark grumpiness was vented a number of times on the way round.
Notably, Hatton was irked by the turf on the fairways at times, and he said conditions were unusual. “I don’t know how the weather has been over here but the greens are definitely slower than they have been in the past,” Hatton said, after signing for 67.
“Because they are slower, the grain probably takes the ball a little bit more so they don't roll maybe as good as they have done previously and the fairways are a little bit weird, as well.
“The fairways are quite awkward to play off, even on the last, I hit a nice wedge shot and I got a flyer off the fairway. You're not really playing for that.”
Few players in the field will be quite as au fait with the intricacies of the Earth Course as his playing partner. Jumeirah Golf Estates is Waring’s home club, which means he felt comfortable ahead of the start of the championship.
“The surface is a bit different,” Waring said. “It is a bit tighter. You’ll see it’s a bit compacted sand underneath so chipping is not the easiest at the moment, and the greens are just a little bit quicker than what we tend to see sort of week-in and week-out.
“The course has been presented really well with everything that went on at the start of the year with the storms. They have done really well to get it in the state they have.”
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
FORSPOKEN
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The%20Legend%20of%20Zelda%3A%20Tears%20of%20The%20Kingdom
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Marvel's%20Spider-Man%202
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Assassin's%20Creed%20Mirage
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Starfield
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Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The five pillars of Islam
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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MATCH DETAILS
Chelsea 4
Jorginho (4 pen, 71 pen), Azpilicueta (63), James (74)
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Abraham (2 og), Promes (20). Kepa (35 og), van de Beek (55)
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Read more about the coronavirus
More on Quran memorisation:
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
%E2%80%98FSO%20Safer%E2%80%99%20-%20a%20ticking%20bomb
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Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Racecard
2pm Handicap Dh 90,000 1,800m
2.30pm Handicap Dh120,000 1,950m
3pm Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
3.30pm Jebel Ali Classic Conditions Dh300,000 1,400m
4pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
4.30pm Conditions Dh250,000 1,400m
5pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
5.30pm Handicap Dh85,000 1,000m
The National selections:
2pm Arch Gold
2.30pm Conclusion
3pm Al Battar
3.30pm Golden Jaguar
4pm Al Motayar
4.30pm Tapi Sioux
5pm Leadership
5.30pm Dahawi
Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
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General%20Classification
%3Cp%3E1.%20Elisa%20Longo%20Borghini%20(ITA)%20Trek-Segafredo%3Cbr%3E2.%20Gaia%20Realini%20(ITA)%20Trek-Segafredo%207%20secs%3Cbr%3E3.%20Silvia%20Persico%20(ITA)%20UAE%20Team%20ADQ%201%20min%2018%20secs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
