Scottie Scheffler ignited his bid for a maiden title at The Open by surging through the field to take a one-shot lead after the second round at Royal Portrush on Friday.
The world No 1 brushed aside two torrential rain showers in Northern Ireland to fire a seven-under par 64, the best round of the week so far, and send an ominous warning to his title rivals.
He is 10-under overall at the halfway stage, one stroke clear of Matthew Fitzpatrick.
“Fortunately, it didn't pour the whole time,” said Scheffler after his lowest round in a major.
“We only had maybe four or five holes where it was really coming down, and I was able to take advantage of the holes where we had some good weather.”
Fitzpatrick produced a brilliant 66 to boost his hopes of becoming the first English winner since Nick Faldo claimed his third title in 1992.
Brian Harman, the 2023 champion, is one shot further behind on eight-under, alongside China's Li Haotong.
Home favourite Rory McIlroy carded a two-under par 69 to reach three-under for the tournament, but is already seven strokes off the pace.
Scheffler struggled off the tee on Thursday but still scored a first-round 68 to sit one stroke off the overnight lead.
He got his second round off to a flying start with a first-hole birdie in driving rain.
The PGA Championship winner then reeled off three consecutive birdies from the fifth hole, including a 34-foot putt down the hill on the par-three sixth.
A second downpour played its part in a rare bogey on the 11th, but Scheffler quickly responded with his sixth birdie of the round on the par-three 13th.
The three-time major champion picked up another shot on the treacherous 16th, dubbed “Calamity Corner”, before reaching 10-under on the 17th despite hitting his drive into the crowd.
One last birdie putt pulled up just short of the last hole, but Scheffler will be a firm favourite going into the weekend as he eyes his fourth win of the year.
Former US Open champion Fitzpatrick reeled off four straight birdies at the start of the back nine to briefly reach 10-under, before giving a shot back on the 14th.
He missed a three-foot birdie putt on the penultimate green but made up for it by draining a 23-footer for par on 18.
“He's world No 1, and we're seeing Tiger-like stuff. I think the pressure is for him to win the golf tournament,” Fitzpatrick said, looking ahead to playing with Scheffler in Saturday's final group.
Harman, who won by six shots at Hoylake two years ago, completed a bogey-free 65 with his sixth birdie of the day on the 18th green.
“It's a very boring approach that I take. I'm not trying to be heroic or do anything crazy,” he said.
Li is bidding to become the first Chinese man to win a major championship and he made five birdies in a second consecutive round of 67.
He came close to edging ahead of Harman, but saw a birdie putt on the 18th agonisingly slip by the hole.
“Definitely want to be comfortable … Will be a lot of pressure for sure, but just have to find a way to deal with that,” Li said of the scrutiny which will be on him over the weekend.
McIlroy's roller-coaster tournament continued, as his errant driving prevented him from taking full advantage of excellent early scoring conditions.
But the world No 2 found his groove late in his round, making two birdies in his final seven holes to stay in touch.
“I feel like I maybe could be a couple closer to the lead, but overall in a decent position heading into the weekend,” said Masters champion McIlroy.
Robert MacIntyre, hoping to become the first Scottish major champion since Paul Lawrie in 1999, cruised into contention with a 66 to reach five-under.
MacIntyre is level with Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, also seeking a maiden major title, Danish youngster Rasmus Hojgaard and Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup.
Shane Lowry, who won the tournament when it was last played at Portrush in 2019, was handed a two-stroke penalty after his round due to the ball moving when he took a practice swing on the 12th hole.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
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Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
Men’s singles
Group A: Son Wan-ho (Kor), Lee Chong Wei (Mas), Ng Long Angus (HK), Chen Long (Chn)
Group B: Kidambi Srikanth (Ind), Shi Yugi (Chn), Chou Tien Chen (Tpe), Viktor Axelsen (Den)
Women’s Singles
Group A: Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn), Pusarla Sindhu (Ind), Sayaka Sato (Jpn), He Bingjiao (Chn)
Group B: Tai Tzu Ying (Tpe), Sung Hi-hyun (Kor), Ratchanok Intanon (Tha), Chen Yufei (Chn)
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ZIMBABWE V UAE, ODI SERIES
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday - Zimbabwe won by 7 wickets
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
The years Ramadan fell in May
The five pillars of Islam
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.”
