Tiger Woods showed no ill effects from his divorce as he shot a six-under par 65 yesterday to take a share of the early lead at the Barclays Classic.
The world No 1, who has struggled through the longest drought of any year in his career, fired seven birdies against a single bogey at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey to claim the clubhouse lead with most of the field still playing.
In the first US PGA play-off event, Woods, the defending champion, needs to finish at least 57th to ensure he continues to advance to next week's event at Boston.
The golfer's split from Elin Nordegren was made official on Monday, and yesterday he served notice to rivals that he can still perform at a top level after months of misery, most of which he kept to himself.
"I came back. This is part of my job. It's what I do," Woods said. "Me coming back and playing golf had nothing to do with our decision to move our separate ways."
He has not won in nine events this year, the worst stretch of his fabled career. The 34-year-old American has gone 10 majors without a title, matching his longest drought.
Just 18 days earlier, Woods finished off the worst 72-hole score of his pro career, an 18-over par 298 at the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational, on a course where he had previously won seven titles.
Not since 2003 had Woods fired over par in every round of an event.
But after he sizzled to the top of the leaderboard yesterday, Woods appears to be back in the prime form that has seen him win 14 major titles, four shy of the all-time record set by Jack Nicklaus.
It should all but seal his selection for the US Ryder Cup team that will defend the trophy against Europe in October in Wales.
Woods opened with a birdie and made birdies on every other hole up to the seventh, missing a 15-foot eagle putt at the par-4 fifth.
After taking his only bogey of the round at the par-4 12th, Woods answered with back-to-back birdies on the next two holes and closed with a birdie at the par-4 18th to take the lead.
He holed birdie putts from 14 and 18 feet and showed the consistency he has sought all season. His best showings have been shares of fourth at the US Open and Masters.
Woods has been working with Sean Foley, a swing coach, for the past few weeks and had some sessions last week at his home in Orlando preparing for the Barclays.
Of his round, he said: "It's exciting to hit the ball flush like this again.
"It's something I've been missing all year. It felt good to hit the ball and shape it both ways and really hit it through the wind."
Joining Woods on 65 was fellow-American Vaughn Taylor, who birdied three holes in a row from the 13th, with compatriots Ryan Palmer and Brian Gay one stroke away on 66. Last year's Barclays winner Heath Slocum, Davis Love III, Jason Day and Chris Couch were in the clubhouse on 67 along with Camilo Villegas of Colombia and Australian John Senden.
Palmer, got off to a sensational start with birdies on the first five holes on his way to a seven-under 28 at the turn. However, he promptly double-bogeyed the 10th to slip back.
Meanwhile, Italy's Francesco Molinari has clinched a place in Europe's Ryder Cup team after Ross McGowan pulled out of the Johnnie Walker Championship yesterday due to injury.
McGowan shot a first round 77 at Gleneagles as he struggled with a shoulder problem and then opted to withdraw from the event, meaning he cannot now qualify for Colin Montgomerie's Ryder Cup squad.
The 28-year-old English player needed a top-two finish to have any chance of gaining an automatic place in the team. His withdrawal guarantees Molinari a debut at Celtic Manor in October.
* Agencies
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Mobile phone packages comparison
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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%20specs
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
LAST-16 FIXTURES
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
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
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.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Brief scores:
England: 290 & 346
Sri Lanka: 336 & 243
