The names vying for contention at the top of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic leaderboard read like a who’s who of the DP World Tour’s top golfers.
So high is the calibre of the field that even those just beyond striking distance of Justin Harding who leads the tournament on 12-under par - Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood - are major celebs.
Major winners Collin Morikawa and Adam Scott, level in 20th place on 4-under par after Round 3, will go off together at 10.35am in Sunday’s final round.
In the match just in front of them will be Shane Lowry, an Open champion, European Ryder Cup player and multiple winner on tour.
In the Irishman’s three-ball will be the only remaining amateur in the field, a teenager born and raised in Dubai who is playing in just his fourth DP World Tour event.
You might expect 17-year-old Josh Hill to feel intimidated by the stardust floating around him. But he is feeling not one bit of it. The Rolex Series? It feels more like a club championship, he said.
“There’s not much to think about,” Hill said, after carding a relatively stress-free 69 in Round 3.
“It is just another round. Just go play golf and see what happens. I feel like I normally do at a normal tournament, just with some bigger names around me.
“I haven’t let it affect me. I’m just playing like I would in a normal amateur tournament. [Thinking like] this is the club champs.”
Hill made history by becoming the first UAE-born player to make the cut in an Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, when he did so around Yas Links last week.
He will be heading to the Saudi International next week, so he is getting well used to sharing space on the driving range, as well as the tee-box, with the sport’s great and good.
Even though, the poise with which he had approached this week at the Classic has been startling. Ahead of the final round, his 3-under par total has him sharing 23rd.
His 69 on Saturday included, for the third day running, a shot dropped at the ninth – Friday’s concession at that hole was actually worse, a double-bogey.
It speaks much of Hill’s on-course equilibrium that he never threatened a Tyrrell Hatton-style strop about the difficulty of the par-4. Play better, and you will be rewarded, he said.
“I think it is the hardest hole on the course, but I think it is a fair hole, and if you hit a good shot you are going to get rewarded as well,” Hill said.
“I wouldn’t say I want to bomb it [as Hatton did at Yas a week earlier about the 18th – a hole he birdied on two of the days].
“I do think it is the hardest hole on the course, but I think it is still fair. Of course, I’d like to take it off my scorecard. Unfortunately that’s not possible.”
That bogey at the ninth was the prelude to three successive birdies after the turn. He made five across the round, with just the one further drop at 16.
“I hit it a lot better today than I did [in Round 2],” Hill said.
“I had the same amount of control of the ball as I did in the first round. The front-nine is a tough nine.
“Even though I three-putted nine and bogeyed it, I said to my caddie we could get it back on the back nine. I birdied three in a row, which was nice. Overall, I am pretty pleased with how I played. I made two silly mistakes but 3-under is 3-under.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Athletic Bilbao v Celta Vigo (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Levante v Getafe (5pm), Sevilla v Real Madrid (7.15pm), Atletico Madrid v Real Valladolid (9.30pm), Cadiz v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday Granada v Huesca (5pm), Osasuna v Real Betis (7.15pm), Villarreal v Elche (9.30pm), Alaves v Real Sociedad (midnight)
Monday Eibar v Valencia (midnight)
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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On sale: Available for preorder now
Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Croatia v Hungary, Thursday, 10.45pm, UAE
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mobile phone packages comparison
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
