Ryan Fox admitted to suffering a sleepless night, being racked with nerves, and having an “awful feeling” in his stomach despite starting the final day of the Ras Al Khaimah Classic with a six-shot lead – and ending it as a five-stroke winner.
The New Zealander won his second DP World Tour title after finishing on 22-under par at Al Hamra Golf Club on Sunday.
He had seen his lead shrink to two at one point in the back nine, before a composed finish left him a comfortable winner ahead of Ross Fisher, who was second on 17-under.
“Probably relief is the main emotion, as obviously it was a bit of a struggle today,” Fox said.
“Sleeping on a six shot lead, I didn’t sleep very well last night. Obviously a couple of the guys came at me early.
“I was a bit nervous, I had that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach all day but I’m very happy with how I played.
“[I played] a couple of great shots coming down the stretch and it was certainly nice walking down the last with putter in hand with so many putts to win.”
The DP World Tour has spent the past month in the UAE, with tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Dubai followed by an unprecedented fortnight in Ras Al Khaimah.
Fox himself has spent much of the past two years away from New Zealand, with the strict quarantine rules in the country making regular trips home incompatible with touring life.
He will now head back and spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel before he is able to toast his victory in person with his young family.
“I’ve got a nervous energy, my old man [New Zealand rugby great Grant Fox] is the same – he paces around on the phone - and I think I probably walked 25km today with how much I paced around the greens,” Fox said.
“That’s just me and I was definitely thinking about the family coming down the last couple of holes.
“It’s pretty big for them, they’ve got to come over to Europe every year and that’s a little bit harder with a little one now, and this win makes that a little bit easier for them to do that.
“I’m a bit disappointed I missed [young daughter] Isabel walking for the first time and I’ve got ten days in a quarantine hotel when I get home to think about that as well, but I’m very much looking forward to seeing them when I get out of the hotel in late February.”
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
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Saturday's results
Brighton 1-1 Leicester City
Everton 1-0 Cardiff City
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 0-3 Liverpool
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
