Sweat soaked through Tiger Woods's shirt when he arrived at Hazeltine National Golf Club's 10th tee on Thursday morning, preparing to play his first hole of the US PGA Championship.
It seemed a bit strange, given it was 8.30, a little breeze blew across the plains, and the sun hadn't started cooking yet. Plus, there was no reason for Woods to feel any pressure. His game was with him, right at his side. He just needed to unveil it.
"There are times I've put it together," Woods said later, "and I've had some pretty good margins of victory. When I'm playing well, I usually don't make that many mistakes."
That is, as humbly as the best player in golf can put it, a way of saying that he might not only win this week, but win big. The first step in such a quest came with a nearly flawless five-under-par 67 on Thursday, when Woods conquered the behemoth that is Hazeltine. He didn't make a bogey. He missed only two of 14 fairways. He hit 15 of 18 greens. He did not, as he said, make many mistakes.
"It's just one of those things," Woods said, "where I keep plodding along."
Woods's plodding is everyone else's sparkling. Though it's not like he grabbed the lead and hid in the cornfields with it. He has a one-shot advantage over defending champion Padraig Harrington, with whom he played. It is an unusual spot for him in a major, one that could be ominous for the rest of the field.
In 50 major championships over the course of his career, Woods has now held at least a share of the lead just seven times. And lest anyone of his 155 opponents hope that he fritter it away, they should know the last time that happened was in 1998, when he gave back first-round leads at the British Open and the US PGA Championship. The last four instances Woods led after the first round - the 2000 US Open and US PGA, the 2002 US Open and the 2005 British Open - he never trailed the rest of the week.
Here, then, are some scary words.
"I played really well today," Woods said.
Despite that early sweat, he played in a nice, calm atmosphere as well. Listed at 7,674 yards - the longest course in major championship history - Hazeltine is supposed to be brutish, forcing players to lay up on its interminable par fives and making them take long irons into some of its stressful par fours. But on a warm Thursday morning that featured a light breeze, the ball sailed, the wide fairways welcomed it, and the greens, still receptive after a huge downpour over last weekend, stuck.
"The golf course, this morning, it was there to be had," said Robert Allenby, one of six players who shot 69 to sit two behind Woods. "And I believe it's only going to get tougher from here on."
That proved to be true. In the afternoon, the wind picked up. There was a bit of rain. The greens got rougher. Vijay Singh, who won this title in 1998 and 2004, and David Toms, the 2001 champion, were the best of the afternoon finishers, each with 69.
None of those concerns bothered the group that featured Woods, who has won this title four times, Harrington, who won it last year, when Woods was out following knee surgery, and Rich Beem, who took the US PGA title at Hazeltine in 2002. Even Beem played well, overcoming a sloppy double bogey on No 3 to shoot a one-under 71.
"Just a couple of guys just having a nice, quiet three-ball day out there," Beem said. "Of course, with about 30,000 people screaming their heads off."
That's slightly different than the last time Woods and Harrington played together, on Sunday at the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio. There, they made up the final pairing. There, they engaged in a stirring duel, one eventually taken by Woods. And there, the conversation, in the final round, consisted of the following, according to Woods:
"I've got a Titleist," Harrington said.
"I've got a Nike," Woods said.
"Good luck today," they said to each other. And then they played.
Harrington's lone bogey came at the par-four first, which he, Woods and Beem played as their 10th hole. It was the latest evidence that Harrington's overhauled swing, which he fought most of the year, is now clicking.
"I'm very happy," Harrington said. "First day of a major, it's always good to keep yourself in there. I think I probably did a little bit more than that."
Woods, of course, did too. His first birdie came at the longest par four on the course, the 518-yard 12th. He birdied three of the four par fives, though he reached only one of them in two, and made a 20-footer on No 2 for another birdie. The only time he appeared in serious trouble was at the first, when he hit what he called a "terrible" into trees on the right. But he got a good bounce, made a nice pitch up over a bunker, and saved par.
"The whole idea is not to make that many mistakes," Woods said. "All the majors that I've won, I've made very few mistakes for the week."
He made hardly a mistake on Thursday. Tomorrow night, if he's saying the same thing, he'll likely have his 15th major championship, no sweat.
* Los Angeles Times
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh289,000
ABU DHABI CARD
5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions; Dh90,000; 2,200m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 1,400m
6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden; Dh80,000; 1,600m
6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh100,000; 1,600m
7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh125,000; 1,600m
8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1; Dh5,000,000; 1,600m
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Croatia v Hungary, Thursday, 10.45pm, UAE
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
'Joker'
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix
Rating: Five out of five stars
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S24%20ULTRA
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RESULTS
6.30pm: Handicap (rated 95-108) US$125,000 2000m (Dirt).
Winner: Don’t Give Up, Gerald Mosse (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap (95 ) $160,000 2810m (Turf).
Winner: Los Barbados, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
7.40pm: Handicap (80-89) $60,000 1600m (D).
Winner: Claim The Roses, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (Div-1) Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D)
Winner: Gold Town, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Cape Verdi Group 2 $200,000 1600m (T).
Winner: Promising Run, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D).
Winner: El Chapo, Luke Morris, Fawzi Nass.
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zodi%20%26%20Tehu%3A%20Princes%20Of%20The%20Desert
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