Relatively downbeat on Wednesday when previewing his title defence at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Tyrrell Hatton must have left Yas Links on Thursday sporting a rather sunnier disposition.
A bogey-free 6-under-par in the morning offered a welcome retort to the gloomy pre-event demeanour and suggested the Englishman won’t be relinquishing the Falcon Trophy without a fight.
OK, so his attempt to retain the crown takes place across the E11 from where he triumphed 12 months ago, at Abu Dhabi Golf Club – the principal reason Hatton downplayed his chances this week.
But his opening DP World Tour round of 2022 confirmed he had taken quickly to fresh surroundings. After 18 holes, he sits fourth, part of a six-player group three shots off leader Scott Jamieson. In between, Thomas Pieters lies on 7-under, with world No 6 Viktor Hovland one stroke better in second.
So, new course in the capital, similarly hot Hatton.
“I guess I am a little bit surprised,” he said. “Start of the new year, you don't really know where your game is at until you play in tournament golf. To be honest, I don't feel like I played that great. I just scored really well. Obviously, I'll take that, start of the year, 6-under, bogey-free, is great.”
It certainly made a mockery of that initial forecast. Although, in his own mind at least, Hatton did have a point.
“Everyone should really be coming into the new year with not high expectations purely because you don't know where your game is at because you haven't played tournament golf for a while,” said the world No 22, chasing a record fifth Rolex Series victory. “I don't think it's a bad thing. Sometimes it helps.
“Obviously in the middle of the season if you've got low expectations, that's probably not a good thing. But starting out, I don't see it as a negative.”
Surely, there can be positives gleaned from his different approach to pre-season. Hatton, who confessed on Wednesday he can lack motivation to practice, kept his clubs locked away for much of December following a tied-9th at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. Instead of working on his game, he honed his gaming.
“I've done a bit of work this year, but I definitely needed to,” Hatton said. “I didn't touch a club for three weeks after the Bahamas, which was lovely. Enjoyed playing Xbox and not doing much else. But started this year going out to Orlando and getting back into the swing of things.”
Clearly, if Round 1 is anything to go by, the lay-off worked.
“I wish it was longer,” Hatton said. “It's not enough time, to be honest. Because obviously we [play] all the time, it's nice to just have a break and not worry about going out and practising and everything like that. So it's nice to hit the refresh button and obviously go again in the new year.”
With conditions to blow heavy around Yas Links on Friday, Hatton quipped that he wouldn’t mind some more time away from the course.
“Hopefully it's so windy we get a day off,” he said. “That would be nice. Can only hope, anyway. But yeah, it's going to be a completely different beast tomorrow. It's going to be a grind. You just have to try get through it, and at the end of the day, par is going to be a good score. Just see how you get on.”
In contrast, Rory McIlroy will be hoping on Friday for an improvement on par. The four-time major champion, out with Hatton and Lee Westwood, typically excels in Abu Dhabi, even if he is yet to win despite eight top-three finishes in his last nine starts there.
However, the Northern Irishman struggled on Thursday morning, mixing four birdies with four bogeys – he dropped three shots in his final four holes – to finish level. Elsewhere, world No 2 Collin Morikawa is one shot worse off than McIlroy, while 17-year-old, Dubai-based amateur Josh Hill is 1-under.
'O'
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The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm: Meydan Sprint – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (Turf) 1,000m
7.40pm: Curlin Stakes – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (D) 2,200m
8.15pm: UAE Oaks – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Zabeel Mile – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm: Balanchine – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m
10pm: Al Shindagha Sprint – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,200m
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
FIGHT%20CARD
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Company%20profile
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
