Francesco Molinari paid tribute to his Continental Europe team after they defeated Great Britain and Ireland on Sunday to win the inaugural Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi.
The Europeans, who entered Sundays singles with a two-point lead, triumphed in six of the 10 matches at Abu Dhabi Golf Club to take the trophy 14.5 to 10.5.
Poland’s Adrian Meronk sank the decisive putt on the final hole to claim a 1-Up victory against Englishman Callum Shinkwin, lifting Europe to an unassailable 13.5 points with one match remaining on the course.
Italy’s Guido Migliozzi then saw off England’s Richard Mansell 4&3 to conclude the tournament on a high for his team.
Speaking after Meronk had secured the cup but while Migliozzi’s match was still live, Molinari said: “Amazing, amazing. I can finally relax – the last couple of hours have been tense after finishing my game.
“But yeah, it’s been great all week, super happy for the guys. Like I said all week, it’s been very, very easy leading them and being a captain for them.”
Molinari, the standout star of Europe’s 2018 Ryder Cup success, led from the front on Sunday, the Italian defeating fellow Open champion Shane Lowry 3&2 in the opening match, before GB and I counterpart Tommy Fleetwood put a point on the board for his team with a 3&2 victory against Thomas Pieters.
England’s Tyrrell Hatton then reeled off an impressive 5&4 win against Frenchman Antoine Rozner, only for Europe to answer back through Nicolai Hojgaard’s triumph on the last hole against Seamus Power.
Matt Wallace kept GB and I in it by seeing off Thomas Detry 2&1, together with Robert MacIntyre’s 5&3 success against Alex Noren. However, wins for Victor Perez – 4&2 over Jordan Smith — and Sepp Straka – 5&4 against Ewen Ferguson – left Meronk to hole a 30-foot putt on the last to clinch the cup.
Fleetwood, who famously partnered Molinari to four points from four at the 2018 Ryder Cup, could not extend his fond memories of the capital having twice won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on the National Course.
However, the GB and I captain said: “We obviously came here to win and wanted to do it for each other. The first thing I said at the start of the week was, ‘Your teammates don’t remember if you play bad, miss a putt or lose a point’.
“But everybody remembers if you don’t give 100 per cent, and I couldn’t have asked for any more from anybody this week. It’s been an amazing experience for me, and I’ve loved playing with my teammates.
“But [Europe] clearly deserved it: they played the best golf and the winning team makes those moments count.”
The Hero Cup, which effectively replaces the Seve Trophy that ran between 2000 and 2013, has been introduced primarily to give potential European Ryder Cup players a taste of the format.
This week’s event was overseen by Luke Donald, the European captain for this year’s Ryder Cup, which takes place in Rome from September 29-October 1.
“It’s a great motivation for me,” Molinari said of making the team. “It’s a long way away and there's a lot of golf to play. I need to focus on my game, which is much better than it has been. Being in Rome would be incredible.”
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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Neighbourhood Watch
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Saudi National Day
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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Where to donate in the UAE
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.
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 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, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
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Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
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