Over the past two decades there have been a couple of staple truisms about the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. The first is that Rory McIlroy will more than likely be contending for the title.
The second is that he will, at some point over the course of the week, be quizzed about his prospects of finally winning the Masters.
Having been confirmed as returning to play at the Majlis Course at the start of next season, he will be hoping the former remains true, safe in the knowledge the latter is no longer pertinent.
Ahead of his first tee shot at Emirates Golf Club on Thursday, January 22, he will be announced as the Masters champion. He will have been hearing that for nine months by that point, but he is unlikely to tire of it any time soon.
“For him to be a Grand Slam champion at such a young age is amazing,” said Simon Corkill, the tournament director of the Desert Classic.
“It had been bearing down on him, wanting to win it, and he hadn’t won a major for a while. For him to tee off as the Masters champion, we will be very proud to have him.”
That is a common sentiment within golf in Dubai: the sense of pride in their association with McIlroy.
January’s tournament will mark 20 years since the Northern Irishman first came to play at the Desert Classic, as a precocious if somewhat less starry 16-year-old amateur.
It would be untrue to say he was completely unknown back then. But it was only really serious golfing anoraks, as well as sports fans local to McIlroy back at home who knew exactly the extent of the teenager’s talent.
Corkill recounts a story of when he was working at the Australian Masters when McIlroy came to play that tournament early in his career. The tournament director was in conversation with Lyndsay Stephen, the Australian golf commentator, and Andrew Cotter, from the BBC.
“We were chatting in the media centre beforehand and Lyndsay said, ‘Who’s this Rory bloke – is he any good?’” Corkill said.
“Andrew, in his dulcet Scottish tones, turned and said, ‘Lyndsay, he is going to be one of the best in the world that you will ever see.’
“Greatness was predicted for him then, and he has gone on to do that now with his five majors, which is amazing. Hopefully he can make it five Desert Classics this year.”
When McIlroy first started at the Majlis, he could go about his golf unencumbered by the attention he has now.
Back in 2006, his viewing public was not much more than his dad carrying his bag, and his mum beyond the ropes.
Now, the galleries that follow him are usually the biggest in the sport. So vast are they at the Desert Classic, Corkill says there is a special action plan in place for when McIlroy is on the course.
Security is upped, in consultation with McIlroy’s own personal guard. Even the concession stands in the tournament village are put on notice, “to make sure they know the stampede is coming”.
“You can see the sandstorm in the distance as his group goes round,” Corkill said.
“When he finishes, there is a big rush towards the tournament town, and we have to make sure everything is ready, cooked, and prepared, otherwise that surge of crowd is disappointed if you don’t cater for it.”
January’s tournament will be McIlroy’s 16th appearance in the Desert Classic since his debut in 2006. He made the cut for the first time as a professional the following year, while in 2009, it was the venue for his first win as a pro.
That first of what has become four wins at the tournament was by one stroke from Justin Rose, the same player he beat in a play-off at Augusta in April to win the Masters, and become just the sixth golfer to achieve the career Grand Slam.
He won the Dallah Trophy again in 2015, then back-to-back in 2023 and 2024. Although Tyrrell Hatton came between him and a hat-trick at the start of this season, Corkill said the Northern Irishman already had it in mind to come back.
“He didn’t win, but he played very well on the last day [finally finishing tied-fourth, three strokes behind Hatton],” Corkill said.
“I spoke to him at the end, saying, ‘Do you want to do this again next year?’ He said, ‘If the crowd and atmosphere is just like this, then count me in.’
“He essentially committed on the Sunday of the tournament last year. Let’s hope he is up there [again in January], and there are lots of players giving him a run for his money, because he is tough to beat around the Majlis.
“He is the Master of the Majlis, and it is very appropriate that he will continue to be that this year, with his Masters crown.”
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3
Danilo (16'), Bernardo Silva (34'), Fernandinho (72')
Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Ulloa (20')
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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 Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The specs
Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel
Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power: 1877bhp
Torque: 2300Nm
Price: Dh7,500,00
On sale: Now
The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
RESULTS
Main card
Bantamweight 56.4kg: Mehdi Eljamari (MAR) beat Abrorbek Madiminbekov (UZB), Split points decision
Super heavyweight 94 kg: Adnan Mohammad (IRN) beat Mohammed Ajaraam (MAR), Split points decision
Lightweight 60kg: Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Faridoon Alik Zai (AFG), RSC round 3
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Taha Marrouni (MAR) beat Mahmood Amin (EGY), Unanimous points decision
Light welterweight 64.5kg: Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) beat Nouredine Samir (UAE), Unanimous points decision
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Haroun Baka (ALG), KO second round
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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