Jon Rahm remains man to beat at DP World Tour Championship after steady – but not spectacular – season

With a couple of decent title defences in the bag this season already, Jon Rahm is hoping his third proves a charm in Dubai.

The Spaniard, ranked eighth in the world, returns to the DP World Tour Championship this week, where last year he delivered a firm endorsement of his undoubted talent by winning on debut.

As such, he arrives at Jumeirah Golf Estates as one of the men to beat. And defending titles clearly sits well with him. When twice attempting to hang onto hardware this campaign, Rahm finished tied-29th at the Farmers Insurance Open and T-4 at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

Perhaps, then, third time lucky?

“Hard to improve on what I did last year,” Rahm conceded on Wednesday. “I was able to be defending champion for three events this year. In Torrey [Pines], I played great the first two days, was in the final group, but didn't play great on the weekend.

“In Ireland, I was doing good until that second hole [on Sunday] – a triple-bogey doesn't help – but I still battled back and almost got myself into the play-off. So hopefully, I've gotten close and maybe this progression continues and I'm able to defend this week.”

Overall, his progression has been rapid. Rahm won three times in his first full season as a professional, and in January was within another victory of reaching world No 1.

In 2017 Jon Rahm, left, won the 2017 DP World Tour Championship while Tommy Fleetwood, right, was crowned the Race to Dubai winner. Getty Images

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Read more:

DP World Tour Championship: Take a look at the pairings and tee times for the first round

Race to Dubai title at stake but Francesco Molinari 'can't be mad' at Tommy Fleetwood

John McAuley's interview with Jon Rahm: 'I have a sickness … I have a disease for golf'

Organisers 'respect' Rory McIlroy's decision to miss 2019 Omega Dubai Desert Classic

McIlroy determined to revive 'B-minus' season at the DP World Tour Championship

John McAuley: All you need to know about 2018 DP World Tour Championship

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Understandably, this season has not quite reached those heights, although he still won on the PGA Tour and his national championship in Spain, while he finished in the top four at both the US Masters and US PGA Championship. At the Ryder Cup, also, there was a memorable success against Tiger Woods in the singles, part of Europe's comprehensive triumph in France.

And, as taming the Tiger, not to mention his form in his six previous appearances Rolex Series events, portrays, Rahm is a man for the grand occasion.

“For the most part, when I think about the year, I peak in those events, the ones that matter to me,” Rahm, 24, said. “Clearly I'm doing something right, if I finished top 15 in all of them and won twice, so hopefully I can keep that going this week and have a chance to win again on Sunday.”

Rating his year, Rahm offered that he had taken more satisfaction from his personal life, rather than professional.

“I'm not going to do it based on last year because last year was a 10 out of 10," he said. "For what I set it out to be and how hard it was to live up to expectation, I'll give it a 7.5 out of 10.

“There’s so many things I learned about myself this year. What I’m going to say is it was a year for a lot of personal growth.

"It was a great year to get engaged and start my life. I would say in personal and family-matters way, it was such a great year. I’ll give it a 10 out of 10."

Sunday at the Ryder Cup would probably rank around that, too. Asked for the best moment of his 2&1 win against Woods, Rahm said: “The last putt. But I think the whole experience is my favourite thing.

“I can't point out one moment, since I found out I was playing against him until it was over, the whole series of events and what I had to do to get ready and mentally ready and play good golf.

"And I was so proud of myself the way I conducted and the way I acted and the way I kept myself very balanced throughout the whole round. I can't pick one moment. If I have to say the most special one is right before I stood up to the putt, walking towards it.

"Somebody in the crowd thought it was a great moment to yell, just at the top of their lungs, ‘Do it for Seve’. So, you know, it's not that I did it for him, but to do it in the middle of the process and three seconds be ready…”

The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars

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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FOLD%204

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Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

RESULTS

Welterweight

Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) beat Mostafa Radi (PAL)

(Unanimous points decision)

Catchweight 75kg

Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) beat Leandro Martins (BRA)

(Second round knockout)

Flyweight (female)

Manon Fiorot (FRA) beat Corinne Laframboise (CAN)

(RSC in third round)

Featherweight

Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB) beat Ahmed Al Darmaki

(Disqualification)

Lightweight

Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) beat Rey Nacionales (PHI)

(Unanimous points)

Featherweight

Yousef Al Housani (UAE) beat Mohamed Fargan (IND)

(TKO first round)

Catchweight 69kg

Jung Han-gook (KOR) beat Max Lima (BRA)

(First round submission by foot-lock)

Catchweight 71kg

Usman Nurmogamedov (RUS) beat Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)

(TKO round 1).

Featherweight title (5 rounds)

Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)

(TKO round 1).

Lightweight title (5 rounds)

Bruno Machado (BRA) beat Mike Santiago (USA)

(RSC round 2).

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”

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Company%20Profile

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'Gold'

Director:Anthony Hayes

Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes

Rating:3/5

Book%20Details

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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.”

Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.