There might not be anything new under the sun. But under floodlights? LIV Golf will continue its mission of “doing things differently to grow the game” when it starts its 2025 season in Riyadh this week. For the first time, a men’s professional tournament will be played at night.
Thursday’s opening round at Riyadh Golf Club will begin at 6.15pm, which is around 30 minutes after sunset. The two following rounds will start 10 minutes earlier, so they can be finished in time for late night concerts.
That means on Friday, for instance, some of the world’s leading golfers are essentially the warm-up act for the Backstreet Boys, who will be playing the main stage on the 19th. This is the fourth season of the breakaway tour and it continues to be golf, but not as we used to know it.
“From the moment we found out we would be playing under the lights I have been really excited,” said Jon Rahm, who won last season’s individual competition in his maiden campaign on the series. “It is what LIV Golf is all about: it is innovative, and creating new products for the consumer. It reminds me, on a different scale, to the first time Formula One staged races at night. It is a different feel and on TV it looks very, very cool. I hope golf comes out that way as well.
“My personal experience is it is really fun to be a part of. It is so different and unique. I think we could be having a very special week. Obviously, we are going to have our shortcomings because we are not used to it.”
Floodlit pro golf is not unique. In fact, it is something of a Gulf speciality. The Ladies European Tour got there first when the Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic was played under the lights of the Faldo Course at Emirates Golf Club.
Men’s pro golf under lights is unquestionably innovative, but it also plays to an existing audience. A third of the field in Riyadh are from America, including world stars like Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
Tournaments in the Middle East traditionally take place when golf’s vast TV audience in the United States are asleep. It is the reason the biggest stars at tournaments like the Dubai Desert Classic and Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship are often drawn at anti-social tee times in their early rounds, to get at least a little airtime stateside.
The first round of LIV Golf Riyadh will start at 10.15am on the US east coast, and 7.15am on the other side of the country. Because of the shotgun start, all the players will be on course at the same time, so viewers won’t have to wait around to see the stars. For the players, it will require some adaptation.
“My biggest thing is the 6pm tee time,” Rahm said. “We are so used to being home and thinking about going to bed by that time.
“We have played every practice round at night because we are playing at night, so we might as well get used to it. It is a shift. When we finish the tournament rounds, it will be 10.30-11pm. By the time you get back, it’s late, and then there is physio.
“Usually, I am in bed asleep by 9.30pm when I am at home. I have been trying to stay up and go to bed closer to 1am, just so there is not so much day ahead of me, and to get used to trying to perform at that time.
“It has definitely been interesting, especially when you travel far away, to have to stay up that late. But it is part of the appeal to a special week like this one.”
It is the first time a LIV event has been played in Riyadh. Jeddah has been a regular feature of the schedule since it started in 2022, and the difference between the two cities is significant.
While conditions in Jeddah have always been hot, the weather in the capital is cool. Temperatures at night will likely hover around the mid-teens. Fans at the AFC Champions League matches on Monday and Tuesday night were wrapped up variously in gilets, puffa jackets, scarfs and hats.
“The golf course in Jeddah I really liked but I never really had a good finish there,” Cam Smith, the Australian former Open champion, said.
“It was a struggle for me, really windy, really hot, then you come here, and it is actually quite still and quite cold. They are two completely different scales.”
At least the players on show will not face the problems of many amateurs who have played night golf. They are unlikely to err so far beyond the beam of the lights that they struggle to find their ball.
“It is a challenge,” said Joaquin Neimann. "[If you miss the] fairway, there are not many lights. [But] it is going to be great. There is a whole challenge waking up and starting your day later, and go to sleep 2am or 3am. Then you play later, and it is cold. The depth perception is not the same as during the day, and you have to adjust to that.
“Everything about playing at night is different. It is not normal to look up and see the moon rather than the sun.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Specs
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THREE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The five pillars of Islam
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
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
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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
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
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The five pillars of Islam
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Developer: Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft Toronto
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: April 10
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Read more about the coronavirus
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
NATIONAL%20SELECTIONS
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Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
The years Ramadan fell in May
The years Ramadan fell in May
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
