World No 1 Scottie Scheffler believes President Donald Trump’s expected appearance at the Ryder Cup later this week will provide a timely lift for the United States team as they prepare to face Europe at Bethpage Black.
The Americans, eager to reclaim the trophy on home soil, will walk onto the first tee in New York with the backing of a partisan crowd and, according to Scheffler, the presence of the US President will only heighten the sense of occasion.
“It has been a tough few weeks for our country with some of the stuff that has been going on, and to have our president here and for us to represent the United States of America, albeit being in a golf tournament, is extremely important for us,” Scheffler said on Tuesday.
“We’re excited to be on home soil with the home crowd and we’re ready to get this tournament started.”
The Ryder Cup arrives in the shadow of national mourning after the fatal shooting of young Republican leader Charlie Kirk earlier this month. A memorial service was held only days before the 44th edition of golf’s most passionate contest, adding an additional layer of poignancy to an event already steeped in sporting pride.
Trump, an avid golfer and long-time supporter of the biennial competition, is scheduled to attend Friday’s opening matches, though his exact arrival time remains unclear. The US commander-in-chief delivered an extraordinary attack on the UN and its members during his address to the General Assembly on Tuesday.
US captain Keegan Bradley was careful not to confirm whether Trump would address the players directly.
“I think President Trump is a pretty busy guy. I’m just thrilled he’s going to be here,” Bradley said. “This first tee at Bethpage is going to be a sporting event to remember across any sport, and then you add on the President of the United States standing there, I really think it’s going to be something that everyone will remember forever.”
Scheffler, who revealed Trump has personally called to congratulate him after past victories, praised the president’s ability to instill belief in those around him.
“He’s one of those guys when you’re around him, he does such a good job of feeding confidence into everybody,” Scheffler said. “He treats everybody the same and treats people with the utmost respect – whether that’s a caddie, a club president, or even the person serving lunch.”
Patrick Cantlay welcomed the prospect of Trump energising the galleries. “His impact on the atmosphere should be great,” Cantlay said. Xander Schauffele, a two-time major winner, added that the raucous crowds are central to the Ryder Cup’s unique identity. “The fans are what make this event special,” he said. “Whether it’s everyone singing their songs in Europe or the heavy ‘U-S-A’ chants here, I love all of it.”
Team Europe captain Luke Donald struck a diplomatic tone, saying the presence of any sitting president underscores the Ryder Cup’s significance. “You see it as a mark of respect that a sitting president wants to support an event when he has a very busy schedule. To find time for that shows something,” Donald said.
Organisers moved Wednesday’s opening ceremony forward by a day due to forecasts of severe weather on Thursday. Pairings for the opening foursomes session will still be revealed Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau found himself in the spotlight after reigniting his simmering rivalry with Rory McIlroy. The 32-year-old LIV Golf star, whose press conference was pushed back to Thursday, has already been described by Bradley as a crucial “X-factor” in the US line-up.
“We have a lot of calm, mellow guys so we need the energy from Bryson and he brings that every day,” Bradley said. “Just his golfing ability alone is an X-factor, but also he’s a really fiery player. We need that in the team room and on the course.”
At the Masters, where McIlroy won his first green jacket to complete a career Grand Slam, DeChambeau promised to "chirp" in McIlroy's ear at the Ryder Cup. The five-time major winner from Northern Ireland responded to The Guardian last month, saying of DeChambeau: "The only way he gets attention is by mentioning other people."
DeChambeau played down fresh comments from McIlroy dismissing his attempts to attract attention.
“All I’m trying to do is inspire kids on YouTube,” DeChambeau told Golf Channel. “Whatever Rory says is great. I hope we can have some good banter back and forth, and if not, no problem. The crowd’s going to be on our side.”
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
THURSDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 10am:
Lucrezia Stefanini v Elena Rybakina (6)
Aryna Sabalenka (4) v Polona Hercog
Sofia Kenin (1) v Zhaoxuan Yan
Kristina Mladenovic v Garbine Muguruza (5)
Sorana Cirstea v Karolina Pliskova (3)
Jessica Pegula v Elina Svitolina (2)
Court 1
Starting at 10am:
Sara Sorribes Tormo v Nadia Podoroska
Marketa Vondrousova v Su-Wei Hsieh
Elise Mertens (7) v Alize Cornet
Tamara Zidansek v Jennifer Brady (11)
Heather Watson v Jodie Burrage
Vera Zvonareva v Amandine Hesse
Court 2
Starting at 10am:
Arantxa Rus v Xiyu Wang
Maria Kostyuk v Lucie Hradecka
Karolina Muchova v Danka Kovinic
Cori Gauff v Ulrikke Eikeri
Mona Barthel v Anastasia Gasanova
Court 3
Starting at 10am:
Kateryna Bondarenko v Yafan Wang
Aliaksandra Sasnovich v Anna Bondar
Bianca Turati v Yaroslava Shvedova
'The Predator'
Dir: Shane Black
Starring: Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Keegan-Michael Key
Two and a half stars
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Sri Lanka's T20I squad
Thisara Perera (captain), Dilshan Munaweera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ashan Priyanjan, Mahela Udawatte, Dasun Shanaka, Sachith Pathirana, Vikum Sanjaya, Lahiru Gamage, Seekkuge Prasanna, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay and Chathuranga de Silva.
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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
Full list of brands available for Instagram Checkout
Adidas @adidaswomen
Anastasia Beverly Hills @anastasiabeverlyhills
Balmain @balmain
Burberry @burberry
ColourPop @colourpopcosmetics
Dior @dior
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KKW @kkwbeauty
Kylie Cosmetics @kyliecosmetics
MAC Cosmetics @maccosmetics
Michael Kors @michaelkors
NARS @narsissist
Nike @niketraining & @nikewomen
NYX Cosmetics @nyxcosmetics
Oscar de la Renta @oscardelarenta
Ouai Hair @theouai
Outdoor Voices @outdoorvoices
Prada @prada
Revolve @revolve
Uniqlo @uniqlo
Warby Parker @warbyparker
Zara @zara
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Stage result
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 4:42:34
2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
3. Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) BikeExchange-Jayco
5. Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
6. Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7. Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar Team
8. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
9. Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
10. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) UAE Team Emirate
More on animal trafficking
MATCH INFO
Who: France v Italy
When: Friday, 11pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Top financial tips for graduates
Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:
1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.
2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
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The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
