On Thursday, Francesco Molinari will rock up to the first tee of the last event of the season and look across at the only man standing between him and the Race to Dubai crown.
The stakes are high, the permutations crystal clear. Should Molinari’s playing partner win this week’s DP World Tour Championship, and he finishes outside the top five, then he will not become the first Italian to clinch the year-long gong.
In most instances, that would make for a terse, maybe even tetchy, battle around the Earth Course. No chance this time, though: Molinari's Race rival is best pal Tommy Fleetwood.
“I can't really be mad at him, even if he wins,” the Race to Dubai front-runner joked on Wednesday. “We're too friendly. And it's Thursday, anyway, so it's too early to really think too far ahead.
“I'm sure we're going to have fun, and like any time we're paired together, all I can do is focus on my game and try to do as good as I can. I don't know honestly if that's going to be winning the tournament or finishing top 20 or top 10 or top 5.
"Whatever it is I need to do my best – and then have some deserved time off.”
Molinari has certainly earned the rest. This has been a marquee season for the British Open champion, what with a first major success, victory in the European Tour's flagship event and another win, on the PGA Tour.
Then, there is the star showing at the Ryder Cup, when he became the first European to take five points from all five matches. Four came via the equally starry partnership with Fleetwood, a pairing dubbed "Moliwood" and producer of one of the best videos on any golf social media account this year.
Going up against his chum, the European No 1, it could make claiming the Race to Dubai even more daunting. Molinari disagrees.
“I know we said this and we're going to sound really cheesy, but if I don't win, I'd rather see him win than anyone else," he said. "We really are good friends and he's had an amazing season.
"To think that he won last year, and to come here, still with a chance to win two in a row, it's incredible, really.
“What I can say for me is that it's been a great season, and however it goes this week, I'm still going to have lots of great memories from all of what I've done this year. And probably the best memory is what we've done together with him in France.”
Besides, having Fleetwood alongside him on Thursday, at least, means Molinari can easily keep tabs on his closest challenger.
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Read more:
DP World Tour Championship: Take a look at the pairings and tee times for the first round
Jon Rahm remains the man to beat in Dubai after a steady – but not spectacular – season
Organisers 'respect' Rory McIlroy's decision to miss 2019 Omega Dubai Desert Classic
McIlroy determined to revive 'B-minus' season at the DP World Tour Championship
John McAuley: All you need to know about 2018 DP World Tour Championship
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“Well, yeah, I've got eyes, and there are leaderboards out there,” he said. “If there were four or five guys in the race, it would be hard to do the math, but basically, even with my poor math, it's really easy to do the calculations.
“I usually don't get too far ahead of myself. So in that way, on Thursday morning, nothing is going to be different. I need to go out and play my best and, hopefully on Sunday, I'll be leading or I'll be in with a chance.
"And if Tommy wins, fair play to him. He's had a great season so far, and to win here, it would make him the deserving winner of the Race to Dubai.”
Deserving is right, no matter who ends up with the honour.
“It would mean a lot because it's a year-race, which makes it a lot harder to win,” Molinari said. “You can have the best week of your life and win one tournament, but to win a competition that lasts throughout the season, with the amount of talent right now on the European Tour, is something really hard to do, but also still hard to figure out for me how I'm here in this position.
“It feels obviously incredible. I've never been here in the past. Really, it's a dream season for me. Hopefully I'll be able to close it out.”
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
WIDE%20VIEW
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It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
BlacKkKlansman
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: John David Washington; Adam Driver
Five stars
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
UAE v Zimbabwe A
Results
Match 1 – UAE won by 4 wickets
Match 2 – UAE won by 5 wickets
Match 3 – UAE won by 25 runs
Match 4 – UAE won by 77 runs
Fixture
Match 5, Saturday, 9.30am start, ICC Academy, Dubai
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
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The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m. Winner: Majd Al Megirat, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Shehhi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: Dassan Da, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Heba Al Wathba, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Harbour Spirit, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.
