As 2016 wraps up and attention turns to the golfing action in the Emirates in 2017 with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship kicking things off next month, here is a look at the main golfing stories from the past 12 months.
Fowler swoops for Falcon
Expected to be a duel in the sun between the game’s two brightest stars, Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship debutant Jordan Spieth and UAE regular Rory McIlroy eventually played second fiddle to Rickie Fowler, with the American stealing the spotlight in January.
Fowler, then outside the so-called “Big Three” of Spieth, McIlroy and Jason Day, captured the Falcon Trophy at only his second attempt, finishing one stroke ahead of Thomas Pieters.
The victory, sealed in large part by two superb chip-ins on Sunday, lifted Fowler to a career-best fourth in the world rankings.
Compatriot Bryson DeChambeau courted some attention that week, too, with the emerging amateur, a physics whizz with a unique approach to the game, leading the event after the opening round.
Willett major credentials
Having already suggested he was fast becoming one of the European Tour’s leading lights, Danny Willett underlined his talent with a brilliant, one-shot victory at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in February.
The Englishman, runner-up to Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai the previous season, holed a 15-footer on the 72nd hole to pip Andy Sullivan and Rafa Cabrero Bello to the coveted Coffee Pot trophy.
Within two months, Willett was a major champion, slipping into the Green Jacket following a three-stroke win at the US Masters.
The triumph at Emirates Golf Club had obviously built confidence and momentum.
What is more, in the week before Augusta, Willett welcomed into the world his first child. A pretty nice early-season treble, eh?
Dubai associates win big on Earth
There was a distinctly local feel to the prize-giving at the DP World Tour Championship this year. First, Matt Fitzpatrick was the lowest-scoring player around the Earth course, with the Golf in Dubai ambassador bettering Tyrrell Hatton by a single shot to win — his third professional title.
Meanwhile, Henrik Stenson, once a long-time Dubai resident, came home tied-ninth to seal the season-long Race to Dubai — his second in four years.
However, one of the most memorable moments at Jumeirah Golf Estates came from Rory McIlroy, but not as you would expect.
The four-time major champion was made to squirm in an amusing interview with the European Tour’s ‘Little Billy’, a no-holds-barred grilling that touched on his private life. The video quickly went viral.
Ladies golf bittersweet
Abu Dhabi welcomed the Ladies European Tour for the first time last month, when the inaugural Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies Open took place at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.
Suitably, there was no shortage of star power, with all-time great Annika Sorenstam invited to the capital to help promote women’s golf among Emiratis.
It was an American who sealed the title, though, with Beth Allen winning by three shots — a result that contributed significantly to her Order of Merit success.
Then, at the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, tragedy struck when caddie Max Zechmann collapsed and died during the first round, meaning play for the day was suspended and the tournament reduced to 54 holes.
Shanshan Feng eventually prevailed for a third successive time — and fourth Dubai win altogether.
Mena Tour progresses
The developmental tour, the brainchild of chairman Mohamed Juma Buamaim, enjoyed its finest year in its sixth season, growing to 17 tournaments in seven countries, including Morocco, Spain and South Africa.
In April, the circuit’s progress was endorsed by the OWGR, which awarded world rankings points and thus made it even more attractive.
Another landmark arrived in September at the Dubai Creek Open, when the tour celebrated its 50th tournament.
Yet arguably its greatest success story of 2016 was Rayhan Thomas, the Dubai-based teenager who triumphed at Dubai Creek while still an amateur — the first non-professional to win on Mena.
Thomas went on to secure the amateur Order of Merit crown.
A bright future lies ahead.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
The specs: 2018 Dodge Durango SRT
Price, base / as tested: Dh259,000
Engine: 6.4-litre V8
Power: 475hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 640Nm @ 4,300rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.7L / 100km
Tips for avoiding trouble online
- Do not post incorrect information and beware of fake news
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- Do not forget your children and monitor their online activities
Start times
5.55am: Wheelchair Marathon Elites
6am: Marathon Elites
7am: Marathon Masses
9am: 10Km Road Race
11am: 4Km Fun Run
The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
4/5
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures: Monday, first 50-over match; Wednesday, second 50-over match; Thursday, third 50-over match
Brave CF 27 fight card
Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (TUN) v Alex Martinez (CAN)
Welterweight:
Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA) v Khamzat Chimaev (SWE)
Middleweight:
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Rustam Chsiev (RUS)
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) v Christofer Silva (BRA)
Super lightweight:
Alex Nacfur (BRA) v Dwight Brooks (USA)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) v Tariq Ismail (CAN)
Chris Corton (PHI) v Zia Mashwani (PAK)
Featherweight:
Sulaiman (KUW) v Abdullatip (RUS)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) v Mohammad Al Katib (JOR)
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES
June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
June 10: Crusaders 3 Lions 12
June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
June 17: Maori All Blacks 10 Lions 32
June 20: Chiefs 6 Lions 34
June 24: New Zealand 30 Lions 15 (First Test)
June 27: Hurricanes 31 Lions 31
July 1: New Zealand 21 Lions 24 (Second Test)
July 8: New Zealand v Lions (Third Test) - kick-off 11.30am (UAE)
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The Bio
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
