Yas Links should provide one of the most testing Abu Dhabi HSBC Championships in history, according to the DP World Tour's tournament director.
The Rolex Series event, now in its 17th year, has relocated to Yas Island from its former base at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, with world No 2 and current Race to Dubai champion Collin Morikawa, and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, headline another strong field. The action begins Thursday.
The Kyle Phillips-designed Yas Links, recently ranked 48th in Golf Digest's Top 100 courses worldwide, has never previously hosted a DP World Tour event. Running along the Arabian Gulf, it measures 7,425 yards.
“It’s one of the best golf courses in the world,” said Miguel Viador, who has been the tour’s tournament director since its inaugural staging in 2006. “Kyle Phillips is personally one of my favourite course architects. It has everything; you get the variety: the long par-4s, short par-4s, long par-3s, short par-3s.
“It’s going to be asking everything out of the players in terms of using every club in the bag. They’re going to need to think a lot how to play each shot, especially in the afternoon wind. With the firmness and everything, it’s going to be a nice but real challenge. A tough test of golf - that’s what we’re aiming for.
Until now played on the National Course, the tournament's average winning score is 18-under par, with three-time winner Martin Kaymer setting the event record at 24-under, in 2011. Last year, Tyrrell Hatton prevailed on 18-under.
"I believe it’ll play tougher than Abu Dhabi Golf Club, which was a wonderful venue, an iconic venue," Viador said. "That’s my feeling, but this is Year 1.”
Viador said the key to this week was getting the course firm enough to bring into to play the run-off areas around the greens. He said the fairways have not been narrowed so it remains generous off the tee, and that tees will be moved throughout the week to offer a different test to the players - such as making hole 14 a reachable par-4, or on 18, to allow the closing par-5 to be reached in two shots.
“Off the back sticks the course is a monster," Viador said. "It’s very, very long. And you always get that north-westerly wind in the afternoon, especially being by the sea, being more exposed - it’s going to be more noticeable this year. We just want to see how it plays Year 1 and then we take it from there.”
Viador said the greatest challenge in getting the tournament ready was accommodating the hospitality areas and grandstands that a tournament of Abu Dhabi’s stature requires, while also being cognisant of providing optimum vantage points to spectators on site. The latter is made easier, he said, given Yas Links' natural mounds.
"This place is going to look incredible on television, absolutely stunning,” Viador said. “For the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, as promotors, it’s great to be able to showcase another golf course in the Emirates, which people at home are going to see and say, ‘Wow, I want to play there’.
"Because it’s going to look incredible with the sea and the lush, green golf course, in the sun, and you have Ferrari World and everything surrounding it. And that will do a huge amount of good for Abu Dhabi as a golfing destination. It’s just fabulous.”
Viador described the recent change of weekends in the UAE to Saturday-Sunday as a “great move for the tournament” since it should allow for larger crowds during the final round. He said he expects a bigger-than-ever attendance on Sunday given also that, for the first time in history, general admission to the tournament is free.
Asked what would make the inaugural run at Yas Links a success, Viador said: “When you have a course like this and when you have a field like this, then surely the cream is going to come to the top. I’ll be very happy if we have an event free of any issues, weather delays, etc.
"Because the rest of it is just there. The players are there - amazing players, the best in the world - and the most magnificent golf course. It’s just right there for them to take.”
Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
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Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
RESULTS
Welterweight
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) beat Mostafa Radi (PAL)
(Unanimous points decision)
Catchweight 75kg
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) beat Leandro Martins (BRA)
(Second round knockout)
Flyweight (female)
Manon Fiorot (FRA) beat Corinne Laframboise (CAN)
(RSC in third round)
Featherweight
Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB) beat Ahmed Al Darmaki
(Disqualification)
Lightweight
Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) beat Rey Nacionales (PHI)
(Unanimous points)
Featherweight
Yousef Al Housani (UAE) beat Mohamed Fargan (IND)
(TKO first round)
Catchweight 69kg
Jung Han-gook (KOR) beat Max Lima (BRA)
(First round submission by foot-lock)
Catchweight 71kg
Usman Nurmogamedov (RUS) beat Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
(TKO round 1).
Featherweight title (5 rounds)
Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
(TKO round 1).
Lightweight title (5 rounds)
Bruno Machado (BRA) beat Mike Santiago (USA)
(RSC round 2).
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2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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.”
