Callum Shinkwin will take a two-stroke lead into day two of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship after a blistering opening round of 10-under 62 that featured no fewer than 11 birdies, eight of them on the bounce, at Al Hamra Golf Club.
The Englishman was already two-under when he started his run on the 16th, recording 10 birdies in 11 holes to spark talk of a 59.
A bogey on the seventh ended those hopes but he picked the shot straight back up on the next and his course-record equalling 10-under par total left him two ahead of countryman Richard Mansell and South African Brandon Stone.
Mansell also got to 10 under before making a double-bogey on the eighth, while Stone – back on the DP World Tour after a season on the European Challenge Tour – picked up six shots in his last seven holes in a 64.
Shinkwin's birdie run was just one short of James Nitties' DP World Tour record as he matched his lowest score on Tour from the 2016 Shenzhen International.
The 30-year-old arrived in Ras Al Khaimah fresh off a tie for 11th at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and now has a third DP World Tour title firmly in his sights.
"I was a bit gutted about the seventh," he said. "It's not easy to get a 59 on a par 72 course but I just kept going, making birdie after birdie and didn't really think about 59.
"I wanted to beat [his previous 62] by one because when you have a record you always want to keep beating those records but eight years down the line I've shot a 62 again so I'm happy.
"I shot 63 qualifying for Abu Dhabi [in 2019] when I lost my card and I followed up with a 65 ... so it can be done. The next day is another day and one shot at a time.
“I like the Middle East, it's always nice this time of year. I leave the cold weather at home and come here to the nice warm sun so it's a big difference."
Mansell, who is set to move to Dubai this coming weekend, said: “I played brilliant today. I had one bad hole. The stuff I’m working on, I’m going to choose to focus on the good stuff because there was a lot of that today.
“The areas of my game that I’ve worked really hard at the past couple of months are starting to show for me. It’s nice to shoot a low round. Obviously, you get to a downwind par five, you’re 10-under par with two to play and you do that, it’s frustrating. But, overall, a good start."
The UAE’s Joshua Grenville-Wood put his local knowledge to good use and made a lightning start with a 5-under 67 featuring six birdies with just one blemish on his scorecard with a bogey on the par-3 15th. The 25-year-old currently lies in a share of 11th place.
“I was pretty solid out there,” said the Els Club member. “I found it good. The conditions weren’t really easy but they weren’t too difficult and a lot easier than last week.
“The course is in good condition. I let a couple of chances slip by on the front nine – saw myself shooting seven or eight under out there today. Pretty solid back nine, just the one hiccup, but other than that I’m really pleased. I’ll go out again tomorrow and try to do the same thing and see where it puts us.”
Fans can enjoy free general admission to the Ras Al Khaimah Championship and can register for tickets at the official European Tour website.
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Company: Eighty6
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Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
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Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
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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.”
What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
