DUBAI // Craig Vance has won a series of competitions at area clubs in the four years since he moved from England to the UAE.
However, this is a different matter entirely.
Vance, an amateur from Liverpool, shot an opening 68 to share the lead at the Dubai Creek Open yesterday, on the region’s professional Mena Tour.
He was joined by England’s James Housby and Mena veteran Trevor Marshall of New Zealand at 3 under after the first of three rounds.
Vance, one of only 24 amateurs in the 121-player field, managed six birdies.
The only other amateur to break par was Scotland’s James Steven, who shot a 1-under 70.
Housby was the most consistent of the trio of co-leaders, making only one bogey at the par-71 Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club course and finishing with a birdie on the last hole.
“You have got to be patient out there and wait for your chances,” said Housby, 27.
Amine Joudar of Morocco, Shafiz Masih of Pakistan and Peter Badawy of Lebanon were among a group of seven players who finished one shot off the lead after opening 69s.
The Mena, an entry-level pro tour, has always included a diverse lot among its membership, but the first-round leaderboard was a riot of colour, with flags from eight countries populating the top 10.
Joudar hit 16 greens in regulation. “It’s been a long time since I played like that,” he said. “The fact that I hit 16 greens shows I am on top of my game. You never know what tomorrow holds, but I feel like I’m in good position.”
Maurice Jeffries of the US, Clarke Lutton of Scotland, Conway Kunneke of South Africa and English favourite Lee Corfield also shot 69.
Ahmed Al Musharrekh, the UAE’s first professional player, shot a 1-over 72.
Morocco’s Faycal Serghini, who is leading the Mena money list, skied to a 77.
* with Agency
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces
- Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
- Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
- Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
- Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
- Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
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