Lee Westwood is riding a wave of confidence at Pebble Beach, where he hopes to lift his first major championship at the US Open, which starts today, after a slew of near misses.
Consistency has been the name of the game for Westwood, the world No 3, who has finished in the top three of the last three majors, and comes to his favourite golf course fresh off victory at the US Tour's St Jude Classic last Sunday.
"It gives you a lot of confidence, obviously, but it's practising playing under pressure and having to make putts when it counts," Westwood told reporters about the benefits of his success in Memphis as he prepares to mount his challenge to win a major.
"Obviously to come out on top last week is a big confidence boost going into a major championship," said the Englishman, whose triumph on Sunday was his first on US soil in 12 years.
Westwood said he fell in love with Pebble Beach when he first saw the Pacific coast layout when it last hosted the US Open.
"When I first got here in 2000 it became my favourite golf course," said Westwood, who will play the first two rounds with Tiger Woods and Ernie Els.
"It's an amazing stretch of land and a dramatic coastline to have a golf course like this where no holes, no two holes are the same.
"There is a lot of little special things about the place and I don't think it's a golf course you can ever tire of playing.
"You see something different out there all the time. And it has different challenges. The wind obviously affects the golf course when you're aside the ocean and it's just such a spectacular place to play. If you have a bad day you can have a look around and it cheers you up a bit."
Westwood said he was pleased about his pairing with Woods, a 14-times major winner, and triple major champion Els. "Playing with Tiger, I've always enjoyed that," said Westwood. "You expect him to be there or thereabouts at the end of the week on the leaderboard.
"So to play with him the first two days you get to keep a closer eye on him and if he plays well sometimes that momentum could pull you through along with him if you are playing well."
* Reuters
PGA Tour
US Open
Site: Pebble Beach, California
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Pebble Beach Golf Links (7,040 yards, 6,438 meters, par 71).
Purse: TBA ($7.5 million in 2009). Winner's share: TBA ($1.35 million in 2009).
Last year: Lucas Glover won the rain-delayed tournament in a Monday finish at Bethpage Black on Long Island, closing with a 3-over 73 for a two-stroke victory over Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Ricky Barnes. Glover finished at 4-under 276.
European Tour
Saint-Omer Open
Site: Aa Saint Omer Golf Club, Lumbres, France
Course: Aa Saint Omer Golf Club (par 71, 6,259 yards)
Purse: ¤600,000 (Dh2.7 million)
2009 champion: Christian Nilsson
Race to Dubai rankings
Golfer Country Earnings
1. Poulter England ¤1,376,800
2. Schwartzel S. Africa ¤1,332,962
3. Els S. Africa ¤1,246,906
4. Westwood England ¤1,102,627
5. Davies Wales ¤997,425
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
Coming 2 America
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones
3/5 stars
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
BAD%20BOYS%3A%20RIDE%20OR%20DIE
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'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
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
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5
Sunday's Super Four matches
Dubai, 3.30pm
India v Pakistan
Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangladesh v Afghanistan
6 UNDERGROUND
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
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
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
