LOCH LOMOND // There continues to be considerable hurdles to be negotiated before the major moments come under the microscope on the golfing calendar.
It is perhaps only of notional value, but there remains an inextricable sporting link between the lofty US courses of Redstone in Texas, TPC Southwind in Tennessee, Ohio's Firestone and the svelte Scottish circuit of Loch Lomond.
These are the penultimate tournaments before one of the four majors in the host country is played out. They are hardly lukewarm competitions. Loch Lomond tomorrow welcomes in the first round of the Scottish Open before its elder Scottish relative of Turnberry stages the 138th British Open Championship.
Whether one is reaching for an umbrella, sun cream or a wind cheater, Loch Lomond, a circuit partly designed by Tom Weiskopf, a former Open champion, never fails to shed its beauty.
The competitors can hardly cheat a course of over 7,000 yards that lists Tom Lehman, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Colin Montgomerie among former champions, but as a form guide for the Open, the Scottish Open is about as reliable as predicting the varied bundle of weather that tends to hover over such versatile land.
It may sound thoughtless, but if a player is using history to try to chart a path to the Claret Jug, they may be better leaving the Scottish Open alone. It is always difficult to win successive events, but this is an especially arduous and emotional undertaking. Perhaps there is wisdom in Tiger Woods's traditional preference to practice on such weeks.
One remembers Sandy Lyle, who is in the Loch Lomond field, snaring the Greater Greensboro Open and US Masters in 1988, but it is a trick few manage. No player has progressed to lift the Open after succeeding at Loch Lomond. It is in keeping with the theme of the past year in which the Houston Open winner Paul Casey, the St Jude Classic champion Brian Gay and Vijay Singh, holder of the Bridgestone Invitational, won the week before the US Masters, US Open and US PGA, but perhaps peaked a week early. The 2008 Scottish Open champion, Graeme McDowell, almost conceded that the hard nature of such a feat makes it difficult to win the Open.
Angel Cabrera may have other ideas. The US Masters champion and former US Open champion torched this course a year ago in the first and second rounds, moving effortlessly to nine under before a third round six-over 77 smothered his initiative. The magic of Cabrera is in his unpredictability.
Sir Nick Faldo and John Daly add a hint of nostalgia to any event, but Ian Poulter, fresh from calling a cameraman an idiot at the French Open, Goosen, Els and Geoff Ogilvy are among a field that contains 22 of the world's top 50 players, ten major winners and a prize fund of £3m (Dh17.8m).
A place at the Open is available to those unqualified, but this is a tournament, ranging from the weather to its winners, that comes with no guarantees.
dkane@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 1 (Hudson-Odoi 90 1')
Manchester City 3 (Gundogan 18', Foden 21', De Bruyne 34')
Man of the match: Ilkay Gundogan (Man City)
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Europe wide
Some of French groups are threatening Friday to continue their journey to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, and to meet up with drivers from other countries on Monday.
Belgian authorities joined French police in banning the threatened blockade. A similar lorry cavalcade was planned for Friday in Vienna but cancelled after authorities prohibited it.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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Teams in the EHL
White Bears, Al Ain Theebs, Dubai Mighty Camels, Abu Dhabi Storms, Abu Dhabi Scorpions and Vipers
Key facilities
- 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
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Fighting with My Family
Director: Stephen Merchant
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Florence Pugh, Thomas Whilley, Tori Ellen Ross, Jack Lowden, Olivia Bernstone, Elroy Powell
Four stars
Australia tour of Pakistan
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: T20I, Rawalpindi
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
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2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
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