The smile remained fixed on Phil Mickelson's face long after the circumstances of the day should have wiped it off.
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It stayed there through a missed two-footer and after the final iron shot he sent deep into the grandstands on the 18th hole when the British Open had all but been decided.
That yet another major championship had slipped away did not seem to matter. Or maybe it did, and this was Mickelson's way of dealing with the two-footer that sealed his fate just like so many missed short putts from championships before.
"Just a stupid mistake," Mickelson said. "There was nothing to it."
If you had just tuned in as Mickelson walked off the 18th green, laughing with his caddie, you would not have realised that for a time he had a very real chance to win his first British Open.
You would not have guessed that at one point he had surged into a tie for the lead, only to let yet another one get away.
You would not have known that it was all because his new attitude was just to have fun and let the putts fall where they may.
This is, after all, a guy who knows how to take defeat well.
"That was some of the most fun I've had competitively," Mickelson said. "It was really a fun start, and it was exciting."
Indeed it was, for as long as it lasted. They do not call him "Phil the Thrill" for nothing, yet Mickelson still needs to learn how to close out a golf tournament.
That has been a problem for him for a long time now. It has made a career that might have been great merely pretty good.
A lot of close calls in major championships. Not nearly enough wins.
The pattern continued on Sunday on the links on the south-east coast of England, where Mickelson did well to make a contest of things when no one else seemed to want to challenge Darren Clarke. A 20-footer on the sixth hole got him close, and a long eagle putt on the next hole put Mickelson five under for the day and suddenly in a tie for the lead.
Almost as quickly, though, he faded. And it began - as almost all Mickelson meltdowns begin - with a missed short putt.
This one came on the 11th on a par putt so short it was shocking. Mickelson pushed it for a bogey, the first of four he would make over six holes.
By the time he hit an iron shot into the fifth row of the grandstand well right of the 18th green, it no longer mattered.
Mickelson would finish tied with Dustin Johnson, three shots back. Instead of getting his name on the coveted Claret Jug, he got it on a silver tray.
About the only consolation to Mickelson is that he had not had that feeling at the British Open very often. His record here is his worst at any of the majors, with only two top 10s in 17 tries. He has never won a British or a US Open, though now he can add his second-place finish to his five runners-up in the other Open. Overall, Mickelson has 17 top-three finishes in 76 major championships, with three US Masters titles and one PGA Championship to show for it.
He did not talk about all the close calls afterward, preferring instead to focus on what he said was a new attitude where he tries to be upbeat and have as much fun as possible on the golf course.
He believes his game has suffered in recent years because he has not done that, though he has also had to deal with his wife, Amy, undergoing treatment for breast cancer at the same time.
Mickelson said earlier in the week he was hitting the ball better than he ever had before, and he lurked around par through the first three rounds.
But while he is usually a focal point in big tournaments, no one paid him much attention until he came out and shot 30 on the front nine of a course that is tough to play even in the best conditions.
If Mickelson could not win, he was happy that Clarke could.
Mickelson and his wife held hands in solidarity with Clarke at the 2006 Ryder Cup closing ceremony in Ireland after the death of his wife, Heather.
And Clarke was one of the first to call Mickelson to talk about what to expect when Amy was diagnosed with the disease.
Mickelson waited off the 18th green after signing his scorecard so he could congratulate his friend on his first major championship win.
This time, he had something to really smile about.
COMPANY PROFILE
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
Result
UAE (S. Tagliabue 90 1') 1-2 Uzbekistan (Shokhruz Norkhonov 48', 86')
UAE%20FIXTURES
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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
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Company%C2%A0profile
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
SEMI-FINAL
Monterrey 1
Funes Mori (14)
Liverpool 2
Keita (11), Firmino (90 1)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
South Africa squad
: Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wkt), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wkt), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Duanne Olivier, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
The%20specs
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Switching%20sides
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday, February 8 v Kenya; Friday, February 9 v Canada; Sunday, February 11 v Nepal; Monday, February 12 v Oman; Wednesday, February 14 v Namibia; Thursday, February 15 final
MATCH STATS
Wolves 0
Aston Villa 1 (El Ghazi 90 4' pen)
Red cards: Joao Moutinho (Wolves); Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa)
Man of the match: Emi Martinez (Aston Villa)
Opening Rugby Championship fixtures: Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Russia v Scotland, Thursday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Match info
What: Fifa Club World Cup play-off
Who: Al Ain v Team Wellington
Where: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
When: Wednesday, kick off 7.30pm
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
LIKELY TEAMS
South Africa
Faf du Plessis (captain), Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock (wkt), Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Lungi Ngidi.
India (from)
Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wkt), Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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