Lee Westwood has broken his silence on the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit and confirmed he has requested a release to play the first LIV Golf Invitational Series event next month.
Westwood revealed in February he had signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding his possible participation in what was then a proposed league of 14 events.
LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman claimed on Monday that the league was ready to launch in mid-February until Phil Mickelson’s comments about the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia were published and led to some players to back out.
“The ones who wanted to get out because of the pressure of the PGA Tour gave back their money and got out. Guys had money in their pockets,” Norman told ESPN.
Speaking during last year’s US PGA Championship, Westwood said it would be a “no-brainer” for him to sign a multi-million pound contract at this stage of his career, despite the threat of bans from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, which would rule players out of the Ryder Cup.
And on Wednesday the 49-year-old confirmed that he has asked both Tours for the release required to contest the $25 million event at Centurion Club from June 9-11.
“I’ve asked for releases for tournaments for as long as I’ve been on Tour,” Westwood said. “Not heard anything back yet. Ball is in the European Tour’s court and the PGA Tour’s court for that matter.
“I think some of my mates I grew up playing with in Worksop, if I went up to them and said I’ve been given an opportunity to play in a tournament, a 48-man tournament for $25 million, they would probably pull me to one side and say ‘what is it you’re actually thinking about?’
“This is my job. I do this for money. It’s not the only reason for doing it. But if anybody comes along and gives any of us a chance at a pay rise, then you have to seriously consider it, don’t you?”
“I’ve supported the European Tour for 29 years. I’ve hosted events on this Tour.
“It’s being portrayed as an us and them [situation], whereas the people from LIV Golf have said that they want to stand side-by-side; they are not going up against any of the really massive tournaments.
“They want everybody to be able to play, have options. They are not forcing anybody’s hand, so I believe.
“People always have a problem with change, don’t they? They are sceptical about it and people like continuity, whereas change in competition is good in any walk of life I think. It shakes things up and keeps everybody on their toes and keeps everybody trying to improve and improve their product.”
Asked if the source of the money for the events – Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – was an issue for him, Westwood insisted sport and politics should not mix.
“The first time I ever played in Saudi Arabia was on the European Tour,” he said. “The first three times I played there, the European Tour sanctioned it so they had no problem with where the money came from.
“I think Saudi Arabia are trying to become more westernised and make changes and they are trying to make changes quickly. But they are just trying to improve, aren’t they?
“I’m of a belief that sport and politics shouldn’t mix, as we have seen it doing in Wimbledon with the Russian players not being allowed to play there. I happen to disagree with what they have done there, as a lot of people do.
“So I don’t think they should mix. A lot of the times, they do. It all comes down to opinions at the end of the day, doesn’t it?”
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports
MATCH INFO
Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')
Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
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Two-step truce
The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National.
The second stage will be the complete withdrawal of all pro-government forces and rebels from Hodeidah city, to be completed by midnight on January 7.
The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.
The agreement also calls the deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces in the city and the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure distribution of aid across the country.
FIGHT CARD
1. Featherweight 66kg
Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg
Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg
Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg
Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
5. Featherweight 66kg
Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)
6. Catchweight 85kg
Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
7. Featherweight 66kg
Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
8. Catchweight 73kg
Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Abdipatta Abdizhali (KGZ)
9. Featherweight 66kg
Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
10. Catchweight 90kg
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The%20specs
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TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
