DUBAI // Five holes down the crowded Sunday stretch in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, and the biggest star in the bunch ...
Well, Lee Westwood tapped in for par on No 14. And then he tapped in for par on No 15.
And then on No 16, he tapped in for par. After that, on No 17, he pretty much tapped in for par, although you could call it a long tap.
On No 18, he knocked in an afterthought of a gimme par. Thereby did galleries witness the No 3 player in the world, a contender for major honours over the past three years, perform a clinic on tapping in for par. Of course, tapping in for par indicates a high level of golf, and Westwood has played that this year in finishing 17th in Abu Dhabi, 12th in Doha and second in Dubai, with his 69-65-67-70 in Dubai a show of might.
It is just that with a bustling leaderboard, tapping in for par seems to leave a contender out of the reckoning, as Westwood certainly appeared to be during the trophy presentation last evening.
He refrained from speaking, odd for the loquacious and insightful.
The three players who separated from the field for the finish played the last five holes with a combined 14 pars and one birdie, the one Rafael Cabrera-Bello made at No 17. Otherwise, the tournament so rich in birdies through the first two days distilled into a sea of black numbers at the conclusion.
"It was tough today," said Stephen Gallacher, one of those top three finishers. "A lot of crosswinds, and you know, the greens were firming up, so it was always going to be tough."
On those greens, Westwood putted beautifully, really. His long lag putt on No 14 would have been a doozy, but it had flawless speed and turned up just shy of the hole on the left.
His long lag putt on No 15 pretty much qualified as gorgeous, pulling up in front on the right.
His birdie try on No 16, from maybe 10 feet, barely missed right. After his sonnet of a drive and a pitch he made look easy on No 17, his birdie try from about eight feet missed barely right but went by, the speed a bit less flawless than on the previous, but good enough that a par miss would have been a howler.
His last little putt on No 18 followed the chip from the left, the one that all but quashed the hopes he had nurtured through a lead after Saturday and an early eagle on No 2 yesterday.
Rory McIlroy, who wound up in a four-way tie for fifth, said of the greens: "It was difficult out there, especially today, because they didn't cut them down as low because of the wind. The grain was just, it was unbelievable."
He soon added: "I mean, the greens seemed so much slower today than they have been."
They did, however, allow for tap-ins.
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
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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 Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
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