Rory McIlroy wants to ‘win at least one’ event in the Race to Dubai season run-in
Rory McIlroy is hoping to turn around his frustrating season, by winning at least one event in the three he is playing during the Final Series of the European Tour, as well as claiming a third Race to Dubai title.
BELEK, TURKEY // Rory McIlroy is hoping to turn around his frustrating season, by winning at least one event in the three he is playing during the Final Series of the European Tour, as well as claiming a third Race to Dubai title.
The 26-year-old Northern Irishman returns to the European Tour this week at the Turkish Airlines Open, and will play the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai after.
McIlroy is leading the Race to Dubai standings, but is yet to win a tournament since making his comeback from the ankle injury that kept him out of the British Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, both tournaments where he was the defending champion, as well as the Scottish Open before that.
And McIlroy, who had won the WGC-Cadillac Match Play and Well Fargo Championship in May, said in a news conference yesterday: “Obviously, I’d like to win the Race to Dubai. I’d like to win at least one of these last three events that I’m playing. That would make me feel better about the end of the year.
“From when I injured my ankle, if I was to go from then to the end of the season without another win, especially with how I was playing up until that point, it would be very disappointing.
“So, I’ve got three opportunities coming up to try and get a win or two on the board and end this year on a positive. At least that would help me go into next year with a bit of momentum.
“And yeah, it would mean an awful lot to me to win the Race to Dubai for the third time.
“It would be a great achievement and that’s obviously what I’m trying to do the next few weeks.”
This is the first time McIlroy is taking part in the Turkish Open, which also announced an extension of three years with the European Tour and will remain a part of the lucrative Final Series.
Brooks Koepka was the champion last year, but the American has decided not to defend his title after giving up on his European Tour membership to concentrate on the PGA Tour. The field of 78 players also includes England’s Danny Willett, who is second in the Race to Dubai behind McIlroy.
A winner twice this season, Willett, who is 271,214 points behind McIlroy, said: “I’m coming into the final four events with a chance to do something not many guys get to do. There’s only one Order of Merit winner each year. To have a chance is great.”
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UAE’s revised Cricket World Cup League Two schedule
August, 2021: Host - United States; Teams - UAE, United States and Scotland
Between September and November, 2021 (dates TBC): Host - Namibia; Teams - Namibia, Oman, UAE
December, 2021: Host - UAE; Teams - UAE, Namibia, Oman
February, 2022: Hosts - Nepal; Teams - UAE, Nepal, PNG
June, 2022: Hosts - Scotland; Teams - UAE, United States, Scotland
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Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone
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The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Celta Vigo v Villarreal (midnight kick-off UAE)
Saturday Sevilla v Real Sociedad (4pm), Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao (7.15pm), Granada v Barcelona (9.30pm), Osasuna v Real Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Levante v Eibar (4pm), Cadiz v Alaves (7.15pm), Elche v Getafe (9.30pm), Real Valladolid v Valencia (midnight)
Monday Huesca v Real Betis (midnight)
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Barcelona 2
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Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
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When: December 27-29, 2018
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Keane on …
Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”
Mohamed Salah’s debut campaign at Anfield: “Unbelievable. He’s been phenomenal. You can name the front three, but for him on a personal level, he’s been unreal. He’s been great to watch and hopefully he can continue now until the end of the season - which I’m sure he will, because he’s been in fine form. He’s been incredible this season.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.
