In many sports, competitors take pride in getting every edge they can. But in golf, professionals adhere to a strict code of honour, a trait that cost Brian Davis, the Englishman, a shot at his first PGA Tour victory on Sunday. Davis called a two-stroke penalty on himself on the first play-off hole to give Jim Furyk victory at the Verizon Heritage at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Davis had used a birdie on the 72nd hole to force the extra hole. However, his approach rolled off the green of the lighthouse hole and into some rocks. As he attempted to chip on, his wedge moved a loose reed in the marshy area. Davis quickly called for a rules official, who after calling colleagues to check the replay, confirmed the penalty. "I thought I saw movement," said Davis. "It's a disappointment."
He conceded to Furyk before the world's sixth-ranked player putted out. Davis nearly won in regulation, his approach to his final hole scaring the cup before settling 18 feet away. His birdie putt had just enough steam to drop in and force the extra hole. Instead of riding that momentum into the play-off, his second shot rolled off the side toward Calibogue Sound and rattled around the rocks before stopping on some hard-packed sand. That is when Davis ended the drama with his self-imposed violation.
Slugger White, the PGA Tour's tournament director who administrated the penalty, said Davis's actions were appropriate. White said Furyk came to Davis after and asked if he was sure it was a penalty. "I know I did it," White recalled Davis's response, "and I couldn't live with myself if I didn't." Furyk shot a 69 to finish at 13- under 271. The win was his 15th in the PGA Tour and second since March, earning him US$1.026 million (Dh3.768m).
He held a one-shot lead over Furyk with four holes left when things began to go wrong. Davis had back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes to slip behind his ultra-steady opponent. Furyk has also posted two seconds and a fourth since 2005 at Harbour Town. Davis shot a 68 and, like Furyk, ended with four rounds in the 60s. Bo Van Pelt (69) and Luke Donald (70) were two shots further back in third. Camilo Villegas (70) headed a group another stroke behind.
The final round was not nearly as crazy as the third - Furyk still had the lead when he teed off, unlike on Saturday. Still, the charge was on to go as low as possible and take control. Heath Slocum, two behind at the start, had birdies on the second, fourth and sixth holes to catch Furyk. Aaron Baddeley, the former champion, tied Furyk at 11 under. But a triple-bogey seven on the eighth - Baddeley drove out of bounds - ended his chance of a second title.
By the middle of the back nine, it was down to Furyk and Davis.
* AP
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html" charset="UTF-8" /></head><body><!--PSTYLE=* Labels%3aFH Label 18 Sport--><p>Beach soccer</p><!--PSTYLE=BY Byline--><p>Amith Passela</p><p /></body></html>
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
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
