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    Change Proved Difficult for Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

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    Last year’s tournament was the first at a new course, Yas Links, and it proved to be a challenge, especially when the golfers played in high winds.For professional golfers it’s not familiarity that breeds contempt, it’s change. Thomas Pieters, the defending champion of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, said he was surprised by his win last year at Yas Links in the United Arab Emirates, which will host the tournament for the second straight year.“Although I won, at the beginning of the week, it wasn’t really a course I fancied or that stood out to my eye,” he said. Pieters, from Belgium, added that the previous venue, Abu Dhabi Golf Club, was a “beast of a golf course,” and that it took a “a proper ball striker to win there,” implying the opposite is true of the new venue for the championship, which begins on Thursday.The transition to Yas Links was compounded last year by strong winds during the second round of the tournament, with gusts up to 40 miles per hour, which wreaked havoc on golfers and their scores. After he finished tied for sixth last year, the defending champion, Tyrrell Hatton, told reporters on site, “I would love for a bomb to drop on it and blow it to oblivion, to be honest.”Much of Hatton’s fury was aimed at the course’s 646-yard par-5 18th hole. The long par 5 utilized the back tee box in the adverse conditions, leaving golfers no way to reach the green in two shots. “I hit a really good tee shot and still had 290 [yards to the] front,” Hatton said after the tournament. “It would be a much better finishing hole if you’re actually rewarded for hitting the fairway, which as it stands, you’re not.”Shane Lowry on the 18th hole of Yas Links during last year’s tournament. The par-5 hole proved to be a challenge for players in the windy conditions.Ryan Lim/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesPieters said what made the course difficult was that it didn’t exactly play like a true links course, where firm conditions allow for players to use the ground to run the ball up onto playing surfaces.The modern professional game rewards aerial mastery, high soaring shots that land to precise yardages — a style of play that doesn’t exactly fit the design of Yas Links. Yet neither does playing it as a traditional links course, Pieters said. “It’s like playing funky links golf. You can’t really run it up on most of the greens — you have to fly it on, which makes it extra tricky.”Miguel Vidaor, the DP World Tour tournament director, said the goal for the course was to be “tough but fair.” Last year, he said, because of the wind conditions, the tournament organizers adjusted their original plans to make the course play firmer and faster.“We were on the limit all day long,” Vidaor said. “We backed off green speeds from high elevens [on the stimpmeter, a device that measures green speeds] and dropped the speed down to the mid tens. It’s an exposed golf course, and we need to be careful because there’s no shelter at all.” Vidaor and his team slowed the speeds by cutting the greens less often than usual, and watering them to allow the grass to grow overnight. Typically, tournament golf is played at a minimum speed of 11 to test players. The reduction of the speeds at Yas Links last year was a reflection of how severely the wind was blowing, which could cause balls to drift from their paths once putted.Barring conditions like the ones last year, Vidaor said he didn’t expect to change much in this year’s setup. Citing Hatton’s criticism last year, he said, “Eighteen is most unusual, but I think it’s a great par 5. It’s a three-shotter, which in the world of tournament golf, you don’t get very often these days.” He added that the course’s designer, Kyle Phillips, intended for it to play this way. Vidaor, who is a fan of Phillips’s work, said “I love a par 5 where par is a good score. Nothing wrong with that.”One of the real differences at Yas Links compared with most DP World Tour courses is its strain of grass, paspalum. Often used on seaside courses or in hot climates, it’s a drought-resistant turf that can thrive in adverse conditions, such as when sea mist falls on it. Bermuda grass, which is also often used in hot climates, can often get “grainy,” Vidaor noted, which affects shots on and around the greens, as that grain can have a grabbing effect on the ball. Paspalum, by contrast, lacks that.Also unique to Yas Links is that paspalum is the only turf grass on the property, which is slightly unusual in today’s modern agronomy at golf courses. Most courses have one type of fairway grass to account for the wear and tear of golf carts, while the greens will feature another type of grass to account for the best pure roll, as well as for the climatic conditions. The uniform quality of the course makes for a beautiful presentation, but also a uniform playing surface. “The consistency throughout the course was stunning,” Pieters said.Vidaor said that also came from controlling the mowing heights, where the grass on the greens was cut to 1.6 millimeters and the grass on the tees was cut to 3.5 millimeters. Fairways were at 6.5 millimeters. All this means that even in the desert in winter, the balls are going to move very fast and the course will have an immaculate appearance.Thomas Pieters, above, with his caddie, won last year’s tournament. Pieters said that he will enter this week’s competition with “lots of good memories from last year.”Kamran Jebreili/Associated PressPieters said that the undulations on the greens could be difficult for players to handle, and with greens running in the mid 11s, the slopes could also prove for difficult putting rounds. And even though it’s the second year for the tournament at Yas Links, Pieters added there still wasn’t the same comfort level as players had at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.“I mean, it caught everybody off guard,” he said. “We were so used to starting on the same course. We’d done our homework in past years and all of a sudden, we were given a completely different golf course.”Despite the criticism and tough conditions last year, Vidaor and the course manager, Corey Finn, will try to make the course harder. “Overall, our goal is to have firm greens as this presents a tougher challenge for the players,” Finn wrote in an email. “This year, having 12 months to prepare, we have performed more work on the greens over summer to try and achieve firmer surfaces.”Despite loving Yas Links a “little less” than the old course, Pieters said he will enter the week with “lots of good memories from last year” and feels good about his preparation, coming off a competitive layoff. “I’ve put in the work over the winter. I’m really fresh and my second daughter was born a couple months ago. So, I’m buzzed to go,” he added.Vidaor said his hopes were simple for the second year at Yas Links. “I’m really hoping that the more the guys play the course, the more they will like it,” he said. “Change is difficult for everybody. Nobody likes change.“After 16 years in the same place, it was, like, ‘Whoa, what’s this?’ But I think the more they play, I think the more they will enjoy it. And, you know, it’s a challenge. We have the best players in the world, and we want it tough.” More

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      Tony Jacklin Reflects on His Career and on LIV Golf

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      He was on top of the world in 1970 after winning the British and U.S. Opens. And while he lived well, he said making money was never his top goal.The members of the DP World Tour, whose next event kicks off on Thursday at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Yas Links in the United Arab Emirates, owe a great deal to the European players who helped make the tour what it is today.That includes Tony Jacklin, the winner of the 1969 British Open, the 1970 United States Open and eight tournaments on the European Tour, now the DP World Tour.Jacklin, from England, also played a huge role in the Ryder Cup. A four-time captain from 1983 to 1989, he led Team Europe to two victories, including the first over the Americans since 1957.Jacklin, 78, reflected recently on his career, on the controversy over the Saudi-financed LIV Golf tour that guarantees entrants six-figure payouts and the game that has meant so much to him.The following conversation has been edited and condensed.When you won your two majors, what did that fame feel like?A Guide to the LIV Golf SeriesCard 1 of 6A new series. More

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      Here Are the Players to Watch at the HSBC Championship

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      There are three seasoned pros to keep an eye on and one teenage amateur.The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in the United Arab Emirates, which starts the 2022 European Tour schedule this week, typically attracts a strong field. This year’s tournament is no exception. Among the participants are the former winners Paul Casey (No. 27 in the world), Lee Westwood (39), Tommy Fleetwood (41) and Shane Lowry (48).One thing, however, is different: the venue. For the first time, the event will be held at Yas Links. It had been staged at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club since 2006.Here are four players to watch.Rory McIlroyWhich McIlroy will we see in 2022: the inconsistent McIlroy of the last two years, with only two victories since November 2019, or the former No. 1 with four major titles through 2014 who seemed destined to win at least a few more?Here is an encouraging sign for him: In October, he shot a six-under 66 in the final round to capture the CJ Cup in Las Vegas for his 20th PGA Tour triumph. A pivotal moment was the 35-foot eagle putt from off the green that he made on the 14th hole. He held on to win by one stroke.Before the victory, he was ranked outside the top 10. He is now No. 8. McIlroy, 32, came in third last year in Abu Dhabi.Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesTyrrell HattonHe won this tournament in 2021, recording his sixth European Tour win.Hatton, paired with McIlroy, birdied three holes on the front nine to seize a two-shot advantage. On the 10th hole, when it appeared that McIlroy might narrow the lead, Hatton converted a 35-foot birdie to maintain his margin. He won by four.However, he clearly did not have the year he was hoping for. His best finish in the majors was a tie for 18th at the Masters; he missed the cut at the United States and British Opens. Still, he secured a spot on Team Europe in the 2021 Ryder Cup, his second appearance in that event.Hatton, 30, is ranked No. 22 in the world.Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesViktor HovlandOnly 24, Hovland recently reached a career-best No. 6 in the world rankings. He is currently No. 7.His last several months have been very impressive. He tied for fourth at the Tour Championship in September, and he won the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba in November and the Hero World Challenge in December.Hovland was a member of Team Europe in the 2021 Ryder Cup. He finished 0-3-2, which included the half point he earned in singles against Collin Morikawa.In 2018, Hovland became the first Norwegian to win the U.S. Amateur Championship and in 2020 was the first from his country to be victorious on the PGA Tour, capturing the Puerto Rico Open.He certainly makes his share of birdies, finishing sixth on the PGA Tour last year with an average of 4.4 per round.Oliver Hardt/R&A, via Getty ImagesJosh HillJosh who?A fair question. Hill, who was born in Dubai but represents England, is only 17 and still an amateur. Yet he has already accomplished a lot.In December, registering 12 birdies and an eagle over three rounds, he won the Abu Dhabi Amateur Championship, earning an invitation to this week’s tournament, which he also played in 2020. He missed the cut but the week was not a total loss. In an eight-hole practice round, he outdueled the world No. 1 Brooks Koepka.In 2019, Hill captured the Al Ain Open in Dubai and became the youngest winner of an Official World Golf Ranking-recognized pro event.No one is predicting that Hill will win in Abu Dhabi or even contend. Even so, it will be interesting to see if he can make it to the weekend. More

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      In Abu Dhabi, Turning the Desert Into a World-Class Golf Course

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      At the Yas Links, water management is vital, as is the type of grass used. It must tolerate saltwater.Yas Links Abu Dhabi, which is hosting the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship starting this week, is no mirage. Like other courses in the Middle East, it is a testament to man overtaking nature in harsh conditions.What players and fans will see is a course, ranked among the top 50 in the world by Golf Digest, that appears to have been unearthed from the desert sand, but, in fact, was the handiwork of the architect Kyle Phillips. The course was built on land bordering the Persian Gulf, and Phillips worked to make that coastline look like, well, a coastline.“The idea was to protect the large mangrove area by dredging away from it and maintaining it,” Phillips said. That was accomplished by making the channel (by the course) wider and more open between the mangroves and the ocean, then building land forms that echo those of the original links courses in Scotland.But the biggest challenge, Phillips said, was working in the heat. Summer temperatures regularly hit more than 100 Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), but the humidity can reach about 86 percent. Sandstorms, like something from a movie, also appear he said. He also noted that the golf course was a speck in the total development of Yas Island.“This went from a barren island to seven hotels, the marina, the Ferrari theme park and the Formula 1 track, too,” Phillips said of the development that began in 2006 and finished in 2018.Clinton Southorn, director of construction and agronomy of Troon International, which manages the course, said it was a “literal oasis.”But that oasis takes maintenance, and the high salinity of the water used to help the grass grow, Southorn said, makes the impossible happen.“From an agronomy point of view, you can’t grow grass here,” he said. “But this tells you about Mother Nature and how it can adapt and how with technology and tools, and the right skills in place, you can sort of change that.”Southorn also said the consistency of the weather helped.“We can put an application down, such as an herbicide, we don’t need to worry about a storm coming through and washing it all away. On the flip side, there’s no rain.”In that climate and environment, taking care of the turf is complicated by the use of water in Abu Dhabi, said Corey Finn, the course manager. He said the potable water of the United Arab Emirates was acquired through desalination, but the golf course uses the recycled water of the nearby hotels and buildings.This poorer quality water poses challenges for Finn, but the entire process relies on six specialists who ensure that pipes are not leaking, sprinklers are not blocked and that the system shuts off as asked by its computer system.That system also allows Finn and his team to measure the amount of water the course receives. Measurements are taken each morning, and the data is sent to a cloud server that overlays the usage on a map of each green, allowing them to adjust the usage.To aid in this endeavor, the course uses paspalum, a type of grass that thrives in salty water. Because of how Yas Links must take care of its turf, its strain of paspalum suffers when it rains.To maintain high-quality turf, Finn said, they often have to add more water to flush the salt and minerals from the soil, and this sometimes allows them to wait a week before watering again.The challenge for the tournament, which moved across town from Abu Dhabi Golf Club after 16 years there, is twofold. Southorn said paspalum was a sticky grass that could grab the ball and posed a challenge to golfers who did not often play on this type of surface. And for the club, while the greens and fairways are all paspalum, making mowing easier, the tournament arrives during winter and at the height of tourist season, when the course receives its most play, putting added stress on the grass.“So we’re doing 150 to 200 rounds a day, which is 100 golf carts rolling over the grass,” Southorn said.Courses that hold professional tournaments must balance a one-week showcase event versus the 51 weeks they host guests, but it’s not often those courses hold tournaments when their grass is its most vulnerable. But Finn said the grass would be where it needed to be for the tournament.“Everywhere you turn on a golf course there is a challenge one way or another. What our team goes through every summer is pretty amazing,” he said about working in the heat, “and we have to manage, and not just the grass. We have to manage ourselves as well.” More

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      For Collin Morikawa, a Young Career Full of Firsts

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      He became the first American to win Europe’s Race to Dubai last year, and the 24-year-old is now ranked No. 2 in the world.Collin Morikawa enters this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship fresh off an accomplishment no other American golfer has matched. He was the first to win the Race to Dubai, the season-long points race on the European Tour, now the DP World Tour. The HSBC kicks off the tour’s new season.But the Race to Dubai accomplishment is just one of his trivia-worthy firsts. He won the P.G.A. Championship in 2020 and the British Open in 2021 on his first try in both tournaments, making him the first player to win two major championships on his first attempt.He claimed the DP World Tour Championship in November by three strokes, cruising to victory in the tournament and claiming what was previously known as the European Tour’s Order of Merit.“To put my name up there is big,” he said, noting great European players like Colin Montgomerie, Seve Ballesteros, Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy, whose names are on the Harry Vardon Trophy. “If you are the first to do something, you open up people’s eyes. Hopefully, it’s a pathway to focus on this.”Keith Pelley, chief executive of the DP World Tour, said Morikawa was an incredible talent.“To win the Open Championship in his first attempt was an amazing achievement, and to follow that by becoming the first American to win our Race to Dubai after his victory in our season-ending DP World Tour Championship was truly something special,” Pelley said.Morikawa, who turns 25 next month, tries to put his accomplishment in the context of he is only just beginning. He pointed out that he might be entering his fourth season playing on the elite professional tours, but he has been a professional golfer for only two and a half years since he started in the middle of 2019 after graduating from college.Morikawa with the claret jug after winning the British Open last year at the Royal St. George’s Golf Club.Paul Ellis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images“It doesn’t really add up when I look at it like that,” he said. “When people said at the end of the season, how do you follow up on what you did last season, it’s not about following up. It’s about how do I add more goals. How do I keep raising the roof and the ceiling? If I check off one goal, I’m adding two more.”His goal this season is straightforward: to move up just one spot in the world rankings. But as the current world No. 2, moving into the top spot requires Morikawa to overtake Jon Rahm, a young player from Spain.“To get to No. 1 in the world, I’ve put myself in a position to possibly do that,” he said. “The short-term goals are to work on my body and the mental stuff. But the big goal is to get to No. 1 in the world, and not just to get to No. 1 in the world but to sustain it and stay up there.”At the season-opening tournament on the PGA Tour earlier this month, the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, Morikawa did not shy away from what he needed to work on to accomplish his goal. After nearly driving the par-4 14th hole, Morikawa had the type of chip that many professional golfers relish: just off the green and uphill, an invitation to chip it in or at least leave a short tap-in putt for birdie.As he stood over the ball, the TV commentators noted how much Morikawa had been struggling with this aspect of his game — something he acknowledged he needed to improve. In certain chipping and putting statistics, Morikawa is outside the top 100 players on tour, statistics that are incongruent with him as an elite player. However, he did hit that shot close.“When you’re ranking below average, which I am over the past few years with my short game and putting, you have to work on it,” he said. “I’ve been able to get hot and have some good weeks for me, but it’s about the level of consistency for me. Being 170th in putting or whatever in chipping, it’s not good enough for me.” His putting is not quite that bad: He ranks 147th.From an early age, Morikawa had his sights set on being a professional golfer, and he said a focus on constant improvement was at the heart of that.Unlike many elite professional athletes, he attended and completed a top school, the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in business administration and won five times as a college golfer.But those four years were not a hedge for a different career, he said, but a way to gain more knowledge for when he became a professional golfer. “People said, Cal was a great backup plan,” he said. “I never thought I had a backup plan. I knew I could use my degree for my professional career and my brand. There was never any wavering.”Likewise, he never looked at the top players as heroes; they were future competition. He drew on his amateur success to keep the competition in perspective. And that meant sticking to his own game, as one of the best long-iron players in the game today.That mind-set kept him from being intimidated. “I never looked at them as guys I’m going to have weak knees over when I see them,” he said. “The only guy like that was Tiger. All the guys I watched for countless years, I knew these guys were the best in the world, but I wasn’t afraid of them. At the end of the day, I still wanted to beat them.”Comparisons to Tiger Woods came quickly for Morikawa. He had the second-longest streak of cuts made as a rookie — 22 to 25 for Woods. And after 60 events, he stacked up pretty favorably to Woods.While Woods had more wins, top-10 finishes and a lower scoring average, according to Golf Digest research, Morikawa, at the same point, had two majors and a World Golf Championship to Woods’s one major.Morikawa and Tiger Woods at the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club.Hilary Swift for The New York TimesMorikawa is circumspect in embracing comparisons to Woods, comparisons that have been made to plenty of other young players who began their careers hot only to cool off.“I don’t think there will ever be another Tiger,” he said. “A lot of his records will be unbeatable. It doesn’t mean I can’t reach for them. But when you think about what he did, they’re a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”Does he think he can beat some of the records? “Yes,” he said. “Are some of the records untouchable? Yes, but I’m going to try to push for them.”Woods has recognized Morikawa’s play. “He doesn’t really do anything wrong,” Woods said in December on the Golf Channel. “He doesn’t really have wild misses. He’s super, super consistent, an unbelievable iron player.”To that end, Morikawa is pushing to test his game around the world. Victories have given him an enviable tour status for someone in only his fourth season, one that allows him to pick and choose the events he wants to play in.He could easily opt to play in just the United States and reduce some of the travel fatigue. But weeks before his 25th birthday, he said traveling to play golf is part of the fun at his age.“I’ve been very fortunate early on to be able to choose my schedule, and that’s made it a lot easier,” he said.“I’m not forcing myself to go play eight events a row on the PGA Tour, and with that balance I’ve been able to add in the DP World Tour. I wanted to see if my game traveled. I wanted to play internationally. And I put myself in a position to win the Road To Dubai in 2021.” More

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      Five Golfers to Watch at Abu Dhabi

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyFive Golfers to Watch at Abu DhabiThe field seems impressive, and Lee Westwood is back to defend his title.Lee Westwood won the tournament last year and also was the European Tour’s Player of the Year.Credit…Mike Egerton/Press Association, via Associated PressJan. 20, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ETThe European Tour will start its new season this week with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates. The tour will have 42 events in 24 countries, capped in November by the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.The HSBC championship, which has been held at the same course every year since 2006, is one of four tournaments in the Rolex Series.Here are five players to watch:Rory McIlroyMcIlroy, 31, of Northern Ireland, is due. His last victory came at the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai in the fall of 2019. It was the same year he captured the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup for the second time.The Abu Dhabi course certainly appeals to McIlroy, who finished second in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. He hasn’t played in the event since 2018, when he tied for third.Last year wasn’t one of McIlroy’s best. He recorded a number of very good rounds, but the problem was being able to put four of them together in the same week.Rory McIlroy at the Masters last year.Credit…Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesA good example was the Masters in November. Over the last three days, McIlroy shot 66, 67 and 69, one stroke lower in that span than the champion, Dustin Johnson. McIlroy, however, had started the tournament with a three-over 75. It was simply too much ground to make up.McIlroy, who was ranked No. 1 in the world before the pandemic, hasn’t won a major since 2014. Currently No. 6 in the rankings, he can achieve the Grand Slam with a victory in April at the Masters.Justin ThomasThomas, 27, ranked No. 3 in the world, will be playing for the first time in Abu Dhabi. He is one of the favorites every time he tees it up. He won three tournaments last season on the PGA Tour and now has 13 victories in his career.About two weeks ago, at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, Thomas finished third, shooting a final-round 66. His most costly mistake came when he bogeyed No. 17, as he finished one shot out of the playoff between Harris English and Joaquin Niemann.Justin Thomas at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.Credit…Cliff Hawkins/Getty ImagesThomas’s strong play at the tournament was overshadowed by his use of an anti-gay slur after missing a putt. He later apologized.In his three previous European Tour starts, his best finish was a tie for eighth at the 2018 HNA Open de France.Lee WestwoodWestwood, the defending champion and European Tour Golfer of the Year in 2020, is still quite capable at the age of 47.In last year’s event at Abu Dhabi, he held off Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood and Victor Perez to win his 25th European Tour victory. The wins have come in four separate decades.Westwood, the former No. 1 player in the world, will also have an opportunity this week to improve his chances of qualifying for the 2021 Ryder Cup, which will be held in Wisconsin.He has been a member of the European team 10 times, starting in 1997, and only Nick Faldo has appeared in more matches.A blemish in Westwood’s career is the lack of a major championship. He has come close with nine top-three finishes. In the 2019 British Open he finished in a tie for fourth.Westwood has been an excellent ball striker for many years. His short game, however, has not been at the same level.Tommy FleetwoodFleetwood, who turned 30 on Tuesday, has had a great deal of success at the Abu Dhabi course. He won the event in 2017 and 2018 and tied for second in 2020.Fleetwood, No. 19 in the world rankings, is also still chasing his first major title. He has been in contention on several occasions. In the 2018 United States Open, he fired a final-round 63 to finish one shot back of the winner, Brooks Koepka.In 2020, Fleetwood finished four times in the top three. Nonetheless, he knows the year could have been much better.“There are areas of my game where I felt I struggled,” he said. “My long game wasn’t up to the standard I feel it has to be.”Tommy Fleetwood at the Masters last year.Credit…Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesEven so, making the Ryder Cup team is well within his sights.The event, Fleetwood said, “is something you never want to miss again.” Fleetwood was 4-1 for the European team in 2018.Another goal is making it to Tokyo.“The Olympics is an occasion that I want to experience and represent my nation,” he said.Matthew FitzpatrickFitzpatrick ended the 2020 season with a striking victory at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. Tied for the lead heading into the final round, he birdied five of the first seven holes, prevailing by a shot over Westwood. It was his sixth European Tour triumph and first since the 2018 Omega European Masters.The win in Dubai couldn’t have come at a better time. In his prior 10 tournaments, he’d missed four cuts.“It was definitely great to get another win under my belt after so many second-place finishes over the last two seasons,” Fitzpatrick said.“I think any win or good result gives you some confidence, so hopefully I can carry the momentum into 2021. I’d say on the weeks leading up to the event I did some great swing work with my coach, Mike Walker, and that definitely showed.”Matthew Fitzpatrick at the BMW P.G.A. Championship in October.Credit…Paul Childs/Action Images, via ReutersOver the years, Fitzpatrick, No. 17 in the world, has revised his view of the Abu Dhabi course.“When I first came out on the European Tour, I kind of thought that it didn’t suit my game,” he said. “My perception of it was that it was a bomber’s paradise, but since then it’s kind of proved my theory wrong.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More