Darren Clarke carded a five-under-par 66 in the first round of the Irish Open yesterday to maintain the good form that could land him a surprise Ryder Cup spot.
Clarke's round left him a stroke behind Australia's Richard Green, the early leader, and lifted his hopes of qualifying for Europe's match against the United States in October.
If the 41-year-old Northern Irishman were to win the Irish Open, he would earn 500,000 Ryder Cup points, enabling him to surge up Europe's qualification points table from 21st spot.
It would also qualify him for the Bridgestone Invitational next week in Akron, Ohio.
Clarke has been chosen as one of three non-playing vice-captains by Colin Montgomerie, the Europe captain, but he still has time to make the team for Celtic Manor in Wales.
"I will play if I qualify and I think Monty will want me to," Clarke said. "We spoke at length about it and Monty's said he wants me there one way or another."
Paul Lawrie, the 1999 British Open champion, Germany's Marcel Siem and Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Gonnet share second place with Clarke. Justin Rose's hopes of qualifying automatically for the Ryder Cup team suffered a blow with a round of 74, but there was worse news for his English compatriot Robert Ruck, who was disqualified for a mistake in filling in his scorecard. He had shot a 65, which would have given him a share of the lead with Green.
* Agencies
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%C2%A0profile
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Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5