TURNBERRY // Tom Watson refuses to be shaken off the scent of what, six weeks before his 60th birthday, would be a remarkable sixth British Open Championship victory.
The American legend traded shot for shot with a cluster of younger rivals for the coveted Claret Jug throughout an exciting third day at Turnberry before taking a one-shot lead on the 17th to go into the clubhouse on four under.
He will be seeking to make his experience of winning over these Ayrshire links 32 long years ago count this afternoon.
Watson, who began the day sharing the lead with his fellow American Steve Marino, 30 years his junior, remained in the ascendancy all afternoon until being joined at the top of the leaderboard on three under by Australia's Mathew Goggin, whose best finish in a major is a tie for 36th place in the 2007 US Open, and Englishman Ross Fisher.
But Watson rallied late in the day and birdies on the 16th and 17th gave him a one-shot clubhouse lead.
Goggin, whose last tournament win was on the Nationwide tour, claims that he is not too stressed by his barren years.
"There are situations where you feel like you could have done more or you've made a mistake or other guys just made good shots," he said. "You just chip away and knock on the door and hopefully you walk through. This would be a nice week to do that, obviously."
Ross Fisher's performance tobe within a shot of the lead was remarkable considering the Englishman is within hours of becoming a father for the first time. He has pledged to rush to the bedside of his wife Jo if she goes into labour. That might be a hard promise to fulfil if the most prestigious honour in the game comes tantalisingly into view this afternoon.
Fisher, who finished a creditable fifth behind Lucas Glover in last month's US Open, got himself to four under par for the tournament with a birdie at the third but bogeys at the fifth and 12th slowed down his momentum.
Another dropped shot at the 14th left him two strokes adrift, but two consecutive birdies, at the 16th and 17th put him level with Goggin on three under.
England's Lee Westwood, who has for several years been considered a potential major winner, also briefly threatened to claim a share of the overnight lead after a birdie at the long 17th, only to bogeying the last and finish on two under.
Nevertheless Westwood, who was within one putt of joiningTiger Woods and Rocco Mediate in a play-off for last year's US Open, will fancy his chances going into what should be a gripping final day.
A satisfied Westwood said: "I watched the golf on TV this morning and I knew how demanding it was. I was seeing guys nine over through 12 holes and so I knew it was playing tough. Fortunately I played a couple of weeks ago in a similar wind to this. I had a fair idea how the golf course was going to play if the wind turned round, and some of the guys may not have had that advantage."
Marino, 29, looked as though the occasion might be too much for him in his first Open as he subsided from five under par to level in the first five holes where a double bogey six at the fifth hurt him badly.
The young American showed tremendous character, however, to stick gamely to his task in what were unfamiliar conditions and the simplest of eagle putts on the long seventh reinvigorated him for the homeward stretch.
A birdie two at the 11th put him back to within a stroke of the lead but a bad miss from three foot at the 12th, just after he had watched Watson miss twice the distance, proved an unexpected setback.
He finished the day six shots off the lead. Mark Calcavecchia started the third day as the nearest challenger to the joint leaders. Like Watson, he was trying to turn back the Open clock, having triumphed at neighbouring Troon 20 years ago.
Calcavecchia, 49, remained firmly in contention after refusing to be unsettled by an early bogey five and another approaching the turn but his hopes were badly hit by a double-bogey at the 13th which was followed by another dropped shot at the next.
That enabled his experienced compatriots Jim Furyk and Stewart Cink to overtake him. Those tough Ryder Cup campaigners will be serious threats this afternoon as they are bracketed together on one under par after respective rounds of 70 and 71.
wjohnson@thenational.ae
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
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RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
Pushkin Press
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
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Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
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Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Europa League group stage draw
Group A: Villarreal, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Astana, Slavia Prague.
Group B: Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, Partizan Belgrade, Skenderbeu.
Group C: Sporting Braga, Ludogorets, Hoffenheim, Istanbul Basaksehir.
Group D: AC Milan, Austria Vienna , Rijeka, AEK Athens.
Group E: Lyon, Everton, Atalanta, Apollon Limassol.
Group F: FC Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moscow, Sheriff Tiraspol, FC Zlin.
Group G: Vitoria Plzen, Steaua Bucarest, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, FC Lugano.
Group H: Arsenal, BATE Borisov, Cologne, Red Star Belgrade.
Group I: Salzburg, Marseille, Vitoria Guimaraes, Konyaspor.
Group J: Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Zorya Luhansk, Ostersund.
Group K: Lazio, Nice, Zulte Waregem, Vitesse Arnhem.
Group L: Zenit St Petersburg, Real Sociedad, Rosenborg, Vardar
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The biog
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Education: Master's degree from American Univeristy of Cairo
Favourite book: That Is How They Defeat Despair by Salwa Aladian
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
The specs: 2019 Jeep Wrangler
Price, base: Dh132,000
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 285hp @ 6,400rpm
Torque: 347Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.6L to 10.3L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
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Results
2-15pm: Commercial Bank Of Dubai – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Al Habash, Patrick Cosgrave (jockey), Bhupat Seemar (trainer)
2.45pm: Al Shafar Investment – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Day Approach, Ray Dawson, Ahmad bin Harmash
3.15pm: Dubai Real estate Centre – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Celtic Prince, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
3.45pm: Jebel Ali Sprint by ARM Holding – Listed (TB) Dh500,000 (D) 1,000m; Winner: Khuzaam, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
4.15pm: Shadwell – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Tenbury Wells, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Jebel Ali Stakes by ARM Holding – Listed (TB) Dh500,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Lost Eden, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson
5.15pm: Jebel Ali Racecourse – Handicap (TB) Dh76,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Rougher, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
SPECS
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Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
