Eleven out of 12 victorious members of the 2023 Europe team will be gearing up for a vociferous reception when they take on Team USA at the Ryder Cup 2025 at Bethpage Black.
Leading the European challenge will be reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy, whose emotional play-off victory over Justin Rose at Augusta National completed a career Grand Slam.
Europe captain Luke Donald has put his trust in a star-studded group that includes England's sixth-ranked Tommy Fleetwood, who won last month's Tour Championship for his first PGA victory; Scotland's ninth-ranked US Open runner-up Robert MacIntyre, Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard, 14th-ranked Rose and England's Tyrrell Hatton from LIV Golf.
On the home side will be top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, two-time major winners Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau, US Open winner JJ Spaun and fellow Ryder Cup rookie Russell Henley and Harris English.
Captain Keegan Bradley made the “extremely difficult” decision to focus on his captain's duties and not play in the Ryder Cup.
Bradley's strong season – including a victory at the Traveller's Championship and six other top-10 finishes – sparked speculation he would choose himself and become the first US playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
US Ryder Cup team, from top left, Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English, Ben Griffin, Russell Henley. Bottom left Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, J. J. Spaun, Justin Thomas, Cameron Young. AP
Teams
USA: Keegan Bradley (captain), Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns,
Europe: Luke Donald (captain), Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, Rasmus Hojgaard, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick.
European Ryder Cup players, from top left, Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Rasmus Hojgaard, Viktor Hovland. Bottom left, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose. Sepp Straka. AP
Format
Two-man teams will play four matches of foursomes (alternate shot) and four matches of fourballs (better ball) on Friday and Saturday. For the final session on Sunday, there will be 12 singles matches.
All matches that end in a tie after 18 holes result in a half-point for each team.
Europe hold the Ryder Cup and needs only to win 14 points to retain the trophy. The Americans will need 14 1/2 points to win the Ryder Cup.
Venue
The Ryder Cup will be played at the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Long Island, New York. It is a course that dates to 1936 and is regarded as the strongest taxpayer-owned golf course in the country.
It was refurbished to host the US Open in 2002 (won by Tiger Woods) and in 2009 (won by Lucas Glover). It has twice held a PGA Tour post-season event. And most recently it held the PGA Championship in 2019 (won by Brooks Koepka).
Schedule and how to watch in UAE
The Ryder Cup takes place from Friday, September 26 to Sunday. The tournament begins at 3.10pm UAE time. Sunday's matches begin at 8pm.
The tournament can be seen live on the Starzplay app in the UAE.
Record
The modern Ryder Cup dates to 1979 when continental Europe was added. Before that, golfers from Britain and later Ireland were included. Since then, Europe holds a 12-9-1 advantage.
The US has a 27-15-2 lead since the start of the Ryder Cup in 1927.
Special preparation
Captain Donald has said his European team will be prepared for the noise at Bethpage Black, the public course with the reputation for having among the rowdiest golf fans.
McIlroy said after the BMW PGA Championship that Donald handed players Virtual Reality equipment after a team gathering. It allows players to visualise the course while adjusting the noise – and insults – from outside the ropes.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah 5.10pm: Continous 5.45pm: Raging Torrent 6.20pm: West Acre 7pm: Flood Zone 7.40pm: Straight No Chaser 8.15pm: Romantic Warrior 8.50pm: Calandogan 9.30pm: Forever Young
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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.”
