Tiger Woods thrilled Masters fans with a strong practice session Monday at Augusta National, solid chips and approach shots signaling a return to form by the 14-time major champion.
Woods, who missed last year’s Masters due to back surgery, excited spectators with a late-afternoon practice round alongside long-time pal Mark O’Meara.
“I felt good and it was nice to get out here,” Woods said. “But the course was a little bit faster than when we played last week.”
Woods, who has sunk to 111th in the world rankings, made his first public shotmaking display since withdrawing from Torrey Pines after only 11 holes in February with back issues and a woeful short game.
“The last two months has been a process for me but I’m in a good place now,” Woods said. “It’s progression. I felt like I had to get my game into a spot where I could compete to win a golf tournament and it is finally there.”
Woods arrived by plane Monday afternoon from Florida and went directly to Augusta National’s practice chipping area, where he hit about 70 shots with no sign of the prior horrid form, and driving range, where he spent slightly under an hour.
During the workout, comfortable-looking Woods appeared to be listening to music, dancing at times, and was smiling and relaxed, sharing hugs with former swing coach Sean Foley, past British Open winner Darren Clarke and O’Meara.
“It was good to catch up with Mark again,” Woods said. “We text each other all the time, so it felt like old times out there. I miss him.”
Woods’s casual manner and successful shotmaking harkened back to the form that made Woods a four-time Masters winner, his most recent green jacket victory coming 10 years ago.
He has not won a major title since the 2008 US Open as he chases the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus.
His manner was a sharp contrast to recent struggles in a 13-month span where he has managed only three 72-hole finishes.
After sending his first tee shot well left into pine trees near the adjacent ninth fairway, Woods blasted over the trees to five feet from the cup for a birdie and practiced his chipping on the hole as well.
“My chipping is fine and today was good as I wanted to test out some wedges,” Woods said. “That was why I was chipping a little bit more.”
Woods put his approach at the par-5 second 30 feet from the cup but missed an eagle putt. At the third he chipped within inches of the cup. At the par-3 fourth his stopped his tee shot 10 feet from the cup.
At the seventh Woods put his approach three feet from the cup. At nine, he chipped to 20 feet and sank the long par putt.
“Don’t ever underestimate Tiger Woods,” O’Meara said. “I saw some good signs out there.”
World No 1 Rory McIlroy, who would complete a career grand slam and win his third major in a row by capturing his first green jacket on Sunday, practiced Monday alongside two amateur debutantes, reigning British Amateur champion Bradley Neil of Scotland and American Byron Meth, the US Public Links champion.
But as excited as people are about McIlroy’s run at history, curiosity over Woods stole the show Monday.
“There’s always a buzz when he’s in the field,” Sweden’s second-ranked Henrik Stenson said. “It’s good to see him back in action and see where his game is at.”
“We want him back. We need him back,” said American Brandt Snedeker. “He brings a lot of drama. I would love to see him in it on Sunday.”
Australia’s fifth-ranked Jason Day hopes to stay under the radar with the most attention on McIlroy, US star Jordan Spieth and especially Woods.
“Everyone’s excited and interested to see how he performs this week, what the state of the game is for him, because he’s such a huge part of golf,” Day said.
Reigning US Open champion Martin Kaymer of Germany, who has endured a comeback of his own, said Woods must have a mental fight as well as a physical one with all the attention on his game.
“Mentally, it must be quite exhausting and we know how important the mental part is in golf,” Kaymer said.
“Hopefully he’s strong enough, he has people to talk to, and he finds a way to compete as good as he can. Because we all know when he’s around, somehow it does make us play better, as well.
“I never experienced someone who played better than him in my era ... for me, what I have seen and what I have experienced, he’s the man.”
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UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
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.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
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
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
