Twelve days away from his 40th birthday Denmark's Thomas Bjorn is a winner again on the European Tour – and back in the big league now.
Ranked only 134th in the world, Bjorn captured the Commercialbank Qatar Masters, four strokes clear of Spaniard Alvaro Quiros.
The 11th Tour victory of his career should put the former Ryder Cup player, who was as high as 10th on the rankings a decade ago, into the elite 64-man field for the Accenture world match play championship in Arizona later this month.
And it is a huge boost to his hopes of earning a place in this July's Open on the same Sandwich course, where he blew a three-shot lead over the closing stretch in 2003.
Bjorn, twice a Ryder Cup vice-captain and current chairman of the Tour's tournament committee, was thrilled to show he still has what it takes on the course.
"It's a big win and hopefully it can push me onto bigger things," he said after signing for a closing 69 and 14-under-par total of 274. "When I play like this I know I can play against the best."
While world No 1 Lee Westwood missed the cut and No 2 Martin Kaymer came only 28th – he needed a top-two finish to dethrone Westwood – Bjorn did not have a single bogey in his last 47 holes.
Big-hitting Quiros, first and second in the event the past two years, made a back-nine charge and closed the gap to one as Bjorn reeled off 14 pars in a row in the windy conditions.
But after Quiros three-putted the 470-yard 15th Bjorn, armed with a new driver that gave him an extra 10 yards, hit a brilliant approach there to within four feet of the flag and then added further birdies on the driveable 16th and par-five 18th.
"I knew if I stuck to my game plan I would be all right," he said. "Once I hit my tee shot on 18 I knew nothing could go wrong from there.
"We're fortunate as golfers that we can keep going at the highest level at this age. I've worked hard. I'm seeing the benefits of it and this changes my travel plans a little bit – for the good."
Quiros dropped another shot on the 155-yard 17th - television commentator Ewen Murray described his choice of a wedge on the tee as "madness" – but a closing birdie took him ahead of third-placed pair Markus Brier and Rafael Cabrera-Bello.
England's former No 9 David Howell, who came into the week ranked only 352nd, returned to something like his old form with a fifth-place finish, while Sergio Garcia, who had slumped from second to 80th, was joint ninth, his best performance for almost a year.
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
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances