If ever an example were needed to show there is more than one way to navigate a golf course, the 8am match in Round 1 of the 2019 Omega Dubai Desert Classic was it.
On the one hand, there was the world No 5, the highest-ranked player in the field, Bryson DeChambeau. A former physics major, with a mechanical swing, and irons that are all the same size and weight – that of a typical 6-iron.
Then on the other, Sergio Garcia, one of the European Tour’s great stylists, who often betrays the look of a tortured genius.
Where one calibrates, the other feels. DeChambeau's unique swing borrows theories from a textbook entitled The Golfing Machine, and he rationalises his game via ideas such as "zero-shifting motion" and the coefficient of restitution.
Garcia’s method is homespun. “My father told me to feel like pulling a chain down with both hands,” Garcia once said of his method of swinging the club.
Father Victor was there, too, watching on from beyond the ropes at the Majlis. After son Sergio played a perfect high-draw to prime position on the par-5 13th, Garcia Sr appeared lost in thought, swinging a wedge he was carrying with him one-handed, pushing up dust from the wasteland beside the fairway.
To describe DeChambeau and Garcia as a study in contrast vastly understates the point. And yet, when they reached the recorders’ hut, both were signing for matching rounds of 66, 6-under-par, and what was at the time a joint-share of the Round 1 lead.
Vive le difference.
“From my knowledge of what I have about the game of golf right now, I think we've accounted for probably half of everything,” DeChambeau, 25, said.
“We've still got a long way to go. Obviously there are things that ultimately I will never be able to control, which is wind. But if we can create an air tolerance that's good enough, then obviously that'll be better than most out here. So we've still got a long way to go.”
Contrast that mode of assessment with Garcia. “I got better as the round went on,” Garcia, the 2017 Classic champion, said.
“I started hitting the ball very nicely on the back nine for sure. I hit some good shots on the front, don't get me wrong.
"But I played really, really well on the back nine. Overall, I think it was a nice opening round.”
Between them and Tommy Fleetwood, the other member of their three-ball, the match played the course in 16-under par in Round 1. It more than lived up to its billing as the marquee group.
Fleetwood was the only one of the three to have dropped shots on his card, after slowing on the second nine following a sparkling 31 on the way out.
The trio will play again together in Friday’s Round 2, going off from the first tee at 12.20pm. By then, maybe DeChambeau will have cracked a formula for greater consistency off the tee, or making those putts drop that in Round 1 shaved the hole.
He reckons he is at about 60 per cent in terms of what he needs to know about golf, “and that last 40 per cent is a lot”.
“I want to be able to go out on the golf course and not really [think], ‘Oh, it feels a little different today’, or ‘Something is a little different, I don't know what it is’,” DeChambeau said.
“That's not me. I want to be able to go, ‘Oh, it's because of this and this’, and be able to calibrate for it and ultimately perform because of those unique and different conditions.
“So that's what I mean. I'm trying to figure out different conditions, different atmospheres, different temperatures, different soil types, different firmness values of greens. Just everything, trying to understand as much as I possibly can so I can be consistent.”
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
All about the Sevens
Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales
HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
