BEIJING // The six-time major champion winner Nick Faldo would like another chance to lead Europe at the 2010 Ryder Cup, despite the team slumping to their first defeat in nine years under the Englishman's captaincy.
Under Faldo, Europe suffered a 16½-11½ defeat to the United States at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, in September, its heaviest defeat since 1981. It prompted harsh criticism of his captaincy in the British media.
"I enjoyed it so much that week, it really was a great experience," the Briton said. "If somewhere down the line there's another opportunity to be captain, I would seriously consider it."
Faldo is among six former major champions teeing off at the co-sanctioned Hong Kong Open tomorrow, including fellow Briton Paul Lawrie, the German Bernhard Langer and the Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal.
Dubbed 'Captain Calamity' in some elements of the press, Faldo was chastised for sending out his big guns at the bottom of the order with Europe trailing 9-7 on the final day.
He was also criticised for overlooking the Ryder Cup stalwarts Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie as his two wild card picks, opting instead for Ian Poulter and Paul Casey.
Faldo would need to overcome a strong bid from the double major winner Sandy Lyle, who Montgomerie has backed for the captaincy.
Montgomerie, who has ruled himself out of the captaincy race in an attempt to play his way into the team, reiterated his support for his fellow Scotsman.
"I think it would be a shame if Sandy did miss out. It appears that it is just a one-hit deal right now, so it would be going against, it would show a precedent if Nick was to do that again," Montgomerie said.
The Scot, 45, said that he felt confident going into this week's Hong Kong Open, an event he won in 2005, despite a run of poor form that has seen him tumble out of the world's top 100 this year.
"I still feel that without question, I should be in the top 50. It's just a matter of proving it, mainly to myself," he added.
*AP
Tom Fletcher on 'soft power'
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Hamilton’s 2017
Australia - 2nd; China - 1st; Bahrain - 2nd; Russia - 4th; Spain - 1st; Monaco - 7th; Canada - 1st; Azerbaijan - 5th; Austria - 4th; Britain - 1st; Hungary - 4th; Belgium - 1st; Italy - 1st; Singapore - 1st; Malaysia - 2nd; Japan - 1st; United States - 1st; Mexico - 9th
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Match info
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Man of the match: Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace)
MATCH INFO
Watford 1 (Deulofeu 80' p)
Chelsea 2 (Abraham 5', Pulisic 55')
