Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship winner Paul Waring is set for a quick return to the capital for the Team Cup event that is being held early in 2025.
The 39-year-old Englishman secured the finest win of his career when he triumphed at Yas Links two weeks ago in a tournament that saw him card a course record 11-under par 61 in the second round.
He went on the secure the title by two shots over Tyrell Hatton holding off a stellar final-day challenge that also included the likes of Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood and Thorbjorn Olesen.
And now Waring has been included in the Great Britain and Ireland team that will take on Continental Europe at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, from January 10-12.
European Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald revealed on Wednesday the first 18 competitors – nine on each side – for next year’s match play contest, with a combined 70 DP World Tour victories.
The final member of each side will be selected after the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, which concludes on December 8.
Donald is using the tournament as a warm-up event for the defence of Europe's Ryder Cup crown at Bethpage Black in New York in late September with Francesco Molinari and Justin Rose having already been named as captains – for Continental Europe and Great Britain and Ireland, respectively.
Molinari will lead Continental Europe in their defence of the Team Cup (then called the Hero Cup), which they won in 2023 after defeating Great Britain & Ireland 14½-10½ over three days.
The teams will compete in one session of fourballs on the Friday, two sessions of foursomes on the Saturday and one session of singles on Sunday, with every player taking part in each session.
Both sides will each have representation from three Ryder Cup players, with Molinari joined by Nicolai Hojgaard and Olesen, while Rose is alongside Fleetwood and Hatton. Also joining up with Rose's team will be five-time DP World Tour winner Matt Wallace, Tom McKibbin, Jordan Smith, Laurie Canter and Aaron Rai.
“Having two Ryder Cup teammates in Tommy and Tyrrell in the team will be invaluable, but I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the team step up to this new arena,” said 2013 US Open champion Rose.
“Having also played in 2023, I’m sure Matt and Jordan will be keen to go out there and win the Cup so it’ll be great to watch them in action again.
“Most of my team have also had the opportunity to represent either Great Britain & Ireland or England and Ireland separately in the past, so they have a lot of experience to draw on from their amateur days.
Ryder Cup 2023 player ratings
“They are all proven winners on Tour, but Europe as a whole is going to benefit massively from next year’s Team Cup as we look towards the Ryder Cup at Bethpage.”
Olesen was one of the four automatic qualifiers for Molinari’s side, with fellow Scandinavians Rasmus Hojgaard and Niklas Norgaard and Italian Matteo Manassero also earning an automatic place on the Continental European team.
Rounding out the European side are the French pair of Matthieu Pavon and Antoine Rozner alongside the Dutchman Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
“It may be a new-look Continental European side but I’m really excited to lead these players at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort as we bid to defend the Team Cup next year,” said 2018 Open Champion Molinari.
“There is a fantastic blend of players who have hit the ground running at the start of their careers and those with a lot of experience on their side, and most of them have played in team competitions in the past as amateurs, which will have given them a great insight into these environments.”
And Donald, who will be captaining the European team for a second consecutive contest, said he and the two captains are “really excited by the two teams” playing in the Abu Dhabi tournament.
“This event provided valuable insight for a number of players who eventually made it to Marco Simone, with six of the 20 competitors in 2023 going on to play in the Ryder Cup, three of those making their debut appearances, and we’re excited to see who can make their mark in next year as they try to earn a place in my side for New York City,” added Donald.
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'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Greenwood 77')
Everton 1 (Lindelof 36' og)
The biog
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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.”
Match info:
Manchester City 2
Sterling (8'), Walker (52')
Newcastle United 1
Yedlin (30')
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