ABU DHABI // Rory McIlroy betrayed signs of winter rust, and confessed to feeling driving envy while playing alongside Tiger Woods, yet still did enough yesterday to share the opening round lead at The National Course.
The Northern Irishman shot a five-under par 67 to leave his luminous playing partners, Woods and Luke Donald, the world No 1, in the shade at start of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
Robert Karlsson, the 2010 Dubai World Championship winner, was the only other player in the field to reach five-under par, on a day of relatively tough scoring. McIlroy spent his formative years idolising Woods and, despite being less-starry eyed than when he was first starting out, he acknowledged the American still casts a spell - not least with the length of his driving.
"When you see a guy out in front of you hitting it out there, you want to try and keep up with him," said McIlroy, the world No 3.
"It [hitting it further than Woods] did cross my mind a couple of times. At No 16, he took it way left, and I was thinking, I'm not sure if I can take it down that line."
Despite having seven birdies on his card, McIlroy reflected that his first competitive outing of 2012 had been "average", although he did win one notable admirer for his scrambling.
"It was good stuff to watch," said Woods, whose recent upturn in form continued with a solid round of 70 yesterday. "Rory didn't quite hit the ball as well as he would like, but he sure chipped and putted well."
Woods might have seen a glimpse of his former self in the way his young playing partner battled to the equal best score of the day, despite being some way short of his best.
McIlroy later reflected that he feels older than his 22 years, probably because he has been travelling the world playing high-profile golf tournaments since he was a 16 year old.
This round was a further sign of his growing maturity. "When you play really bad, turning 74s into 70s and you play average like today, turning a 70 into a 67, it makes a huge difference," he said.
The McIlroy-Woods-Donald match was the only one on the course in which all three players carded scores under par.
Even though two players, Juan Manuel Lara and Sergio Garcia, shot a hole-in-one apiece at the 12th, scoring was hardly the most prolific this competition has seen.
Lee Westwood, who will start at level par this morning, said the course played just as a championship course should, as it rewarded good shots and punished bad ones.
According to Karlsson, punitive rough and the strong field, with the world's top four players - and six of the top 10 - will make this a tough competition to win. "I don't think we are going to play many tournaments this year where there will be a stronger field than this," the Swedish player said.
"It is a pleasure to play here, the golf course is set up fantastically and it is a difficult test. The rough is very thick but the fairways and greens are fantastic."
Martin Kaymer, the most successful player in the history of this tournament, will start today in uncharted territory for him, nine shots behind the leaders.
"I said to my caddie, if you putt like Stevie Wonder, you can't make any birdies," said Kaymer, who is chasing a third successive win here.
"The golf course is definitely much tougher than the last few years. I need one of those rounds I've played in the past, one of those mid-60s."
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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.”
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
FIXTURES
New Zealand v France, second Test
Saturday, 12.35pm (UAE)
Auckland, New Zealand
South Africa v Wales
Sunday, 12.40am (UAE), San Juan, Argentina
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