Percey wins Dubai Golf Open
1997 - The Dubai Open has again lived up to its image of producing dramatic finishes in accord with tradition. Australian Adrian Percey brilliantly holed a 12-foot putt to steal an exciting one-shot victory from South Africa’s Des Terblanche at the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. In a tournament that has seen more highs than lows, and proved so captivating for the city’s unpretentious golf enthusiasts, Percey’s resilience ultimately won the day. Level on 15-under going into the 18th, both players hit their second shots to the fringe of the green and while Percey chipped in to 12 feet from the pin Terblance went to within four feet. The Australian, however, showing no sign of nervousness calmly holed what by any standards was a challenging putt, to turn the pressure on Terblanche.
October 25
1616 - Dutch mariner Dirk Hartog discovers Australia.
1760 - Britain’s King George III succeeds his late grandfather, George II.
1874 - Britain annexes Fiji islands.
1900 - Transvaal is annexed formally by Britain at Pretoria, South Africa.
1909 - Murder of Japan’s Prince Ito by Korean fanatics leads to Japanese dictatorship in Korea.
1936 - Germany and Italy form Rome-Berlin Axis.
1938 - Japanese troops occupy Hankou and Wuhan.
1940 - Benjamin Davis becomes the first African-American general in the US Army.
1956 - Egypt, Jordan and Syria form a unified military command.
1971 - UN General Assembly votes to admit mainland China and expel Taiwan.
1976 - The National Theatre in London is officially opened.
1980 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat inaugurates the Ahmad Hamdi tunnel which connects mainland Egypt with the Sinai desert.
1983 - US forces invade Marxist-ruled Grenada.
1987 - Deng Xiaoping steps down from all but China’s top military post.
1995 - Israel begins to pull out troops from Jenin after 28-year occupation.
1997 - Gen Dennis Sassou-Nguesso is sworn in as president of the Republic of Congo.
1999 - UAE and India sign an extradition treaty in New Delhi.
2001 - Microsoft releases its Windows XP operating system.
2003 - Faisal Al Fayez is sworn in as new Jordanian prime minister.
2007 - The first commercial A380 flight touched down at Sydney after a flight from Singapore.
2009 - Twin suicide car bombings devastate the heart of Baghdad, killing at least 147 people.
2010 - A 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits an island in Indonesia, triggering a tsunami and killing hundreds.
2011 - Virginia Rometty becomes first woman CEO in IBM’s 100-year history.
2012 - Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara quits job to start his own national political party.
