Given the field assembled for the Hero Dubai Desert Classic this week, it was always possible there would be players who break through the defences of the Majlis Course.
The rough is malicious at Emirates Golf Club, and some of the pin positions on Day 1 were a touch mean, too. The afternoon breeze provided its customary challenge, as ever.
Three players still managed to get down as low as 7-under-par to share the lead at the end of the opening round. Although it was not the three you might expect from an assembly labelled “the strongest and most exciting” for many years by tournament director Simon Corkill.
Rory McIlroy is trying to defend his title for a second year running. Jon Rahm is headlining on his Classic debut. There are multiple major winners besides, like Patrick Reed and Adam Scott.
And yet the 65s on the first day were provided by a far less luminous trio. One was Ricardo Gouveia, the world No 405, who needed a third-place finish in his last tournament last year to save his DP World Tour card.
Another was David Micheluzzi, an Australian who missed eight cuts and had two withdrawals on his first year on the tour last season.
And the other was David Ford, an American amateur playing on a sponsor’s invite, in just his fourth tournament of any note.
“Last year was nerve-wracking, my first year out, and it’s always tough with new venues every week,” said Micheluzzi, the world ranked 225 player from Melbourne.
“I just want to look forward to every event and play the best I can, and I started well this week, which is nice. I’ve never played it before and it’s a tough golf course. Everyone is saying how tough it was. And today I played great.”
Gouveia was similarly thrilled with his work, no doubt delighted with the fact he is no longer living life on the edge, as he was at the end of last year.
He needed to finish in the top five at the Genesis Open in Korea in October to maintain his rights to play on Europe’s tour. He finished third, his best result in over a year.
“Knowing that I can perform under the gun, under that amount of pressure, it's really important, and just gave me a lot of confidence,” Gouveia said.
Ford, by contrast, is playing the game for fun at present. The left-hander is ranked sixth in the world among amateurs, and plans to turn pro in May. He was not expected to contend on his first trip to Dubai.
“I try to keep my expectations low,” said Ford, who raised both arms in celebration when his approach to the ninth – his last hole of the day – just evaded the water guarding the green.
“I know where my game is at right now and I have got a lot of people around me believing in me which is really helpful going into this week.
“I just tried to have fun. Just come out here and do the preparation that I do for college events and just keep everything really simple and keep having fun.”
The unlikely lads finished Thursday with a cushion over some of the most celebrated names in golf, with the most notable of all, world No 3 McIlroy, five shots back on 2-under.
The Northern Irishman said he felt rusty in his first round since carrying off the DP World Tour Champions and Race to Dubai titles at Jumeirah Golf Estates in November.
“It was a bit scrappy,” McIlroy said after signing for 70. “It was my first competitive round of the year [and I was a] little uncomfortable over some shots. Definitely not as comfortable as I was in practice and coming in here.
“But it’s nice to get a card in your hand. It sort of exposes the things that you need to work on. I got it around today. I got it around and got it in in a couple under, which is nice, and didn't put myself out of the tournament, which is the main thing.”
McIlroy will start his second round at 12.25pm on Friday, alongside Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood.
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
The Indo-Pacific
Rashmee Roshan Lall: US-India chemistry can no longer be dismissed
Brahma Chellaney: South China Sea has become Asean's Achilles heel
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Tomorrow 2021
SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
BLACKBERRY
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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 three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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 two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative
Transgender report
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Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
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Whiile you're here
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Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
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Background: Chemical Weapons
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Plastic tipping point
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
National Editorial: Suleimani has been killed, now we must de-escalate
Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
Jack Moore: Why the assassination is such a monumental gamble
Matthew Levitt: Iran retains its ability to launch terror attacks
Damien McElroy: A CEO tasked with spreading Iran's influence
Simon Waldman: Cautious Israel keeping a low profile
