Scotland’s David Law holds a two-shot lead halfway through the Ras Al Khaimah Championship presented by Phoenix Capital following a brilliant 8-under par 64 on Friday.
Law, searching for a second win on tour, was in fine form at Al Hamra Golf Club, recording two eagles and five birdies in his second round. His only dropped shot arrived at the second — his 11th hole.
At the time, Law had equalled the course record only for that mark to be broken in the afternoon after Spain’s Adrian Otaegui shot a bogey-free 63. He sits in third on 10-under, four shots back from Law. Rising star Nicolai Hojgaard is sandwiched between, on 12-under.
“I chipped in twice for two eagles so that was picking up four shots straight away, which was great,” Law said. “I played good. Yesterday was tricky, today a little different. It was a different golf course today, but I rode my luck a little, with chipping in twice, but I was happy.”
Law’s sole victory on the DP World Tour — the rebranded European Tour — came almost exactly two years ago at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in Australia. Last year, his best finish was tied for 4th at the Hero Open in Scotland.
“It’s been a while since the win,” Law said. “This is my fourth season on tour. I had a chance at St Andrews last year to win and I felt very comfortable again in that position. I feel like my golf has progressed nicely in the last three years and that’s the main aim. That’s all anyone’s trying to do — to keep improving.
“I feel like I’ve done that and it’s about giving myself opportunities. It’s not about putting pressure on myself to go and win again or anything like that. If I keep knocking on the door and giving myself chances, I’ll hopefully win one of them.”
At present, Hojgaard represents the greatest threat to Law’s chances. The 20-year-old Dane, considered one of the brightest talents in European golf, posted a 65 on Friday that comprised eight birdies and a solitary bogey.
Like Law, Hojgaard is chasing a second DP World Tour trophy having triumphed in September at the Italian Open.
“It was a good day,” he said. “I played some nice golf, felt like I was driving it a bit better than I have for the last couple of weeks, so I put myself in some good spots to hit it close to the pins. It was a day to shoot a good score again so I’m looking forward to the weekend.”
Meanwhile, Otaegui made the biggest move of the second round, courtesy of nine birdies — he reeled off four in four holes from the second — with no dropped shots. Otaegui had opened his tournament with a 71 on Thursday.
“Actually, the biggest difference from yesterday was that yesterday I played really good with my irons to the hole but I wasn’t feeling very confident with my driving, but today I was,” he said.
“I took a lot of fairways compared to yesterday. I didn’t have to fight for pars, so I think that was the biggest difference.
“I tried to just keep it going, keep giving myself birdie chances. I was feeling confident with my putting, I was rolling the ball very well, so nothing really special in my mind. Just the basics, keep going and I think we did that very well.”
Below the lead trio, four players are 9-under after 36 holes, with seven players one shot further back. This week marks the tournament's debut on the DP World Tour.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Company%20profile
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Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
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RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (Turf) 1,200m
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5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
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6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
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6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Faiza, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: RB Dixie Honor, Antonio Fresu, Helal Al Alawi.
7.30pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard.
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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The biog
Favourite Quote: “Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction emerge from its ashes,” by The late king Hussain of Jordan.
Favourite Hobby: Writing and cooking
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Favourite book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
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Favourite film: Bohemian Rhapsody
Favourite place to visit in the UAE: The beach or Satwa
Children: Stepdaughter Tyler 27, daughter Quito 22 and son Dali 19
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
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3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
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5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
