For the first time since March, when The Players Championship was called off after the first round, PGA Tour golf is back from its coronavirus shutdown from Thursday.
The Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas will feature a star-studded line-up and plenty of new health and safety rules to limit the risks of Covid-19.
Ahead of the the first tee shot, here are some key talking points.
Stars on show but no roar from Tiger
Sixteen of the world's top 20 will tee off on Thursday at Colonial Country Club, but Tiger Woods will not be among them.
The 15-time major winner last played on Tour in February at Riviera and missed the next four tournaments, including the Players, with a sore back.
The world No 11 looked to have his game in top shape on May 24 when he and Peyton Manning defeated Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in a charity match.
He may be saving his fragile body for the frantic revamped schedule in August and September, and so could return as late as Jack Nicklaus's Memorial Tournament on July 16, which Woods has never missed when healthy.
The Memorial could be the first of eight events in 10 weeks for the 44-year-old American.
The WGC Invitational is on July 30-August 2, followed by the US PGA Championship, three FedEx Cup playoff events, and September's US Open and Ryder Cup.
Woods needs one victory to set the all-time wins record having tied Sam Snead's 82 PGA Tour victories at the Zozo Championship in Japan in October.
McIlroy leads stellar cast
World No 1 Rory McIlroy has been installed as favourite this week, despite never having played at Colonial before.
He will be joined in the hunt by the rest of the world's top five – Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson – with Thomas another to play the event for the first time.
But picking a winner is not easy: 101 of the 148 players have PGA Tour wins under their belt, the strongest field in the event's history.
The top three – McIlroy, Rahm and Koepka – will play together for the first two rounds in a stellar featured group that will have an odd feel in front of empty galleries.
No 4 Thomas will play alongside his great pals Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler in what could be a fun grouping for an expected large TV audience.
'Beef' doesn't mince words
While the return of the PGA Tour has been universally welcomed, the decision to restart the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) has not gone down so well.
Players at the Charles Schwab Challenge and a second-string Korn Ferry Tour event in the US this week will be awarded ranking points.
But the European Tour is not scheduled to return until late July and it will be September before the Asian Tour sees any action.
Players on those circuits, with no points-scoring opportunities, took to social media to vent their anger.
"Completely dumb from @OWGRltd but anyway least golf is starting," fumed England's Andrew "Beef" Johnston on Twitter.
Compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick, the world No 25, chimed in: "Very unfair, can't understand this!"
South Africa's 165th-ranked Brandon Stone tweeted: "Find this very disrespectful to all other tours around the world."
"Agreed! Either all Tours are playing for points or none!" said Austria's No 26 Bernd Wiesberger.
Officials from the OWGR claimed in a statement that the averaging formula used to calculate rankings will help mitigate the problem.
But a row could be brewing, especially if a player on a suspended tour were to drop out of the all-important top 50 and miss out on a major or a lucrative WGC event as a result.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission:Â Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
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- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
UAE squad
Rohan Mustafa (captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
Results
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner No Riesgo Al Maury, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner Marwa W’Rsan, Sam Hitchcott, Jaci Wickham.
6pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner Dahess D’Arabie, Al Moatasem Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi.
6.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m
Winner Safin Al Reef, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
7pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 2,200m
Winner Thulbaseera Al Jasra, Shakir Al Balushi, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
7.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh 80,000 2,200m
Winner Autumn Pride, Szczepan Mazur, Helal Al Alawi.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and bunsÂ
- Margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars
- Energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- Infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes
- Many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5Â
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
SCHEDULE
6.30pm Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 1,600m
7.40pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap Dh210,000 (D) 1,200m
8.50pm: Handicap Dh210,000 (D) 2,000m
9.25pm:Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m
Â
Amith's predicted winners:
6.30pm: Down On Da Bayou
7.05pm: Etisalat
7.40pm: Mulfit
8.15pm: Pennsylvania Dutch
8.50pm: Mudallel
9.25pm: Midnight Sands
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test India won by innings and 53 runs at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
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