Rory McIlroy said he remains fully focused on winning the DP World Tour Championship this week having already secured the end-of-season Race to Dubai title before a ball has been hit.
McIlroy, 33, is guaranteed to end the DP World Tour year at the top of the season-long points list for the fifth time in his career following previous triumphs in 2012, 2014, 2015 and last season.
The Northern Irishman was assured of top spot after results went his way at last week's Nedbank Challenge in South Africa. McIlroy holds an unassailable 2,083-point lead over second-placed Jon Rahm, with 2,000 points awarded to the DPWTC winner in Dubai.
Key to McIlroy's fifth Race to Dubai success has been the pair of Rolex Series event victories at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and the Scottish Open, and the strong showings in the majors; he finished inside the top seven in three of the four big tournaments this year.
"In fairness, I probably would have liked to have done it another way," McIlroy said on Tuesday. "But I've played well when I've come back over to the European Tour this year, won two Rolex Series Events and had some other really high finishes in tournaments that give a lot of points.
"It's really nice to have my name on the Harry Vardon Trophy for the fifth time and just be one behind Seve [Ballesteros] and still a few behind Monty (Colin Montgomerie)."
Despite already claiming one of the two trophies he was in contention for this week before the tournament has even started, McIlroy insisted that has not diminished his motivation. The world No 3 is aiming to complete the DPWTC-Race to Dubai double for the third time, having won both titles in 2012 and 2015.
"I knew that as long Adrian [Meronk] and Ryan [Fox] ... didn't break into sort of within that 2,000-point barrier, I knew not that I could come here and relax – I still wanted to come here and win this golf tournament; this golf course sets up well for me and it's a place I've always done well at – but it's nice to come here with at least that off my mind so I can just concentrate on the golf tournament."
In addition to his two wins on the DP World Tour, McIlroy has enjoyed another impressively consistent year, with a further victory at the CJ Cup and 13 top 10s in 18 events on the PGA Tour.
The highlight, though, came in Rome as McIlroy delivered his best-ever Ryder Cup points haul to lead Europe to an emphatic victory over the United States. It was a markedly different picture from two years ago at Whistling Straits, where McIlroy broke down in tears following a historic beating.
That said, the Northern Irishman went another season without a major. Next season will be 10 years since McIlroy won the last of his four majors at the 2013 PGA Championship.
Assessing his season, McIlroy said: "Probably give it a 7 out of 10. Played good golf. I had the two wins. I had my best-ever Ryder Cup, which feels like a win to me, especially coming off the back of Whistling Straits.
"I've been happy with the year. If I looked back on one thing, I'll rue that miss at LA [at the US Open]. I had a great opportunity there to pick up another major and I didn't.
"But I'm still not going to let that take away from the fact that it's been another really consistent, solid year with some really good performances.
"I'm feeling like my game is in as good of shape as it has ever been throughout my 16, 17-year career. I'm happy with that, and will try to finish this year off on a high and play well this week and reset and get ready for 2024."
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%20specs
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
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In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
RESULTS
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: M'A Yaromoon, Jesus Rosales (jockey), Khalifa Al Neydai (trainer)
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: No Riesgo Al Maury, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: JAP Almahfuz, Royston Ffrench, Irfan Ellahi
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Mahmouda, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AS Jezan, George Buckell, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Dolman, Antonio Fresu, Bhupath Seemar
Griselda
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