Inside The Ropes At The 2016 DP World Tour Championship: A Day of Enjoyment

I find myself in a very interesting situation tonight as I review again my earlier thoughts of calling the 2016 DP World Tour Championship my swan song. The reason? A brilliant and enjoyable day on the fairways of the Earth Course scoring for what was far and away the best pairing of the day - Sergio Garcia and Joost Luiten.
It's only when you walk 18 holes inside the ropes with Sergio and witness his interaction with the crowd that you realise why he is held in such affection by the worldwide golfing public. His attitude and demeanour today were an example to everyone who plays the game professionally. Perhaps it's because he enjoyed another terrific day, shooting -5 to take him to joint top of the leaderboard at -9 with Francesco Molinari and putting himself in a great position to take top prize this weekend.
His round wasn't without its testing situations including one where he had to take a penalty shot and from a near impossible position, struck the ball to about fifteen feet and sank the putt for par. The crowd really did go wild!
Talking of crowds, Sergio and Joost attracted the biggest gallery of the day and the noise that erupted when they walked in front of the 17th Grandstand - affectionately known here as "The Left Bank" - was overwhelming. "The Left Bank" by the way is where most of the drinking is done during this championship and of course today being Friday, this was the start of weekend here!
To be fair to Joost, he played his part as well today shooting 69 to take his weekend starting point to -7 and it was good to see him and Sergio chatting throughout the round and clearly enjoying the competitive aspect but also each other's company.
I also need to mention my own companion today in the form of Jasper, a strapping young man of just 17 years who was as tall, if not taller than me! When introduced to him, I questioned "why are you sending a teacher out with me rather than a pupil?" He's going to be a big lad when fully grown and like Oliver yesterday, he did another sterling job for me and the tournament organisers. Thanks Jasper if you ever get to read this Blog. I do feel a touch of sympathy for my companion tomorrow because the two boys have set the bar very high but I would be very surprised if tomorrow's volunteer doesn't clear it in style.
Tomorrow I am going out earlier than the past two days and at this stage as I post tonight's output, it would appear that Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood might have the pleasure of my company. If you have been reading my daily updates, you will already realise that Shane has a very high approval rating from me. Tommy on the other hand has still to earn his but I don't think that's a problem because we had quite a chat about rugby league the other day. It's a code I have always enjoyed watching and overnight I will be studying Wigan rugby league in some considerable detail just in case the topic comes up again.
Finally tonight, it's competition time. Whilst most golf fans will know the Rory McIlroys, Sergio Garcias and Henrik Stensons of this world, there are lots of less well known competitors in Dubai and tonight the test is to name the golfers photographed with me below. If I get more than one correct answer, they will be placed in a hat and the winner will be drawn by my better half when I return home. The prize will be something very fresh and fizzy to drink and no it won't be lemonade!! Send your answers in order to alistaircoy@gmail.com together with comments saying how much you are enjoying the Blog and that my writing reminds you of Charles Dickens or similar literary genius and long time idol of mine, Ernie Wise! Ps - it's only a joke about the comments but the competition is very serious.
Happy reading and happy competing.