DUBAI // Peter Hanson equalled the Earth Course record to take a one-shot lead into today's second round of the Dubai World Championship.
And the Swede said his Ryder Cup experience from a year ago laid the foundation for yesterday's "best ever round".
If he had managed to sink a tricky three-foot putt at the 18th hole for birdie, then the 34 year old would have gone one better than his eight-under par score of 64, which matched single-round course record shared by Lee Westwood and Ross Fisher.
Hanson, who has not managed a win this year, finished one shot ahead of Scotland's Paul Lawrie, with Rory McIlroy in third place on six under.
And when he reflected on what was an outstanding display of golf in one of the biggest tournaments on the calendar, Hanson said that playing in the Ryder Cup last October at Celtic Manor in Wales, when he helped Europe beat the USA, gave him the self belief that was in evidence yesterday.
"Just being in that group of players, such as Lee and Rory, really helped me as someone who was last to qualify for the team," Hanson said. "Watching Lee in practice was a check on where I was at that moment and it really helped me this year.
"It showed me what needed to improve, how to get better and get into a really top position in the world."
Hanson looked like a top player yesterday, although he said that his first round would be difficult to top.
"I don't think I have ever played as well before," the Swede said. "My ball striking was very pure and my first five birdies were all tap-ins. I had no idea about the course record but it's a terrific start."
Lawrie, the 1999 British Open champion, fired a bogey free 65 in his seven-under par total.
The Scot is currently 56th on the Race to Dubai and has struggled for results in recent times - March's victory at the Andalusia Open was his first in nine years - which meant that this was his first showing at this event.
And he is delighted to find some form so sons Craig and Michael can be proud of their father.
"My boys are 16 and 12 now, and I don't want them seeing dad as a poor player," Lawrie said. "They were giving me a bit of stick that it had been nine years since my last win [in the 2002 Wales Open], which is fair enough.
"They were very young when I won in Wales all that time ago. They are both keen golfers themselves, work hard on their game and it would be cool if one or both made it on to tour.
"Craig, the eldest, is talking about turning pro and plays off scratch and he beat me recently for the first time. Michael plays off five and they are both miles ahead of me when I was their age."
A flurry of birdies, six of them in 10 holes during the middle of his round, set up what was an excellent afternoon's work.
"It didn't feel like nine years since I had won," he said. "I wasn't desperate and it's not something I struggled with. My ambition here is the same as it is at every tournament; I am here to win."
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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.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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- 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
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
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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
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Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
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On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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.
