Despite tough weather conditions, Bain enjoyed some good form at the Carnoustie in 2007.
Despite tough weather conditions, Bain enjoyed some good form at the Carnoustie in 2007.

Bain recalls 2007 British Open magical moments and gains



DUBAI // Ross Bain, the Dubai-based Asian Tour golfer, describes his only appearance at the British Open as the most surreal, challenging and wonderful experience of his career.

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The Scot believes that this week's event, the 140th time the tournament has been held, will never lose the magic that has surrounded the oldest major.

The best four days of Bain's career came in 2007 at Carnoustie, Scotland, when he made the cut and finished in 45th place, after getting through in qualifying.

Like every other golf fan, Bain will be glued to his television over the next four days as the best players, minus Tiger Woods of course, battle it would at the Royal St George's Club in Sandwich, Kent.

And Bain, 35, expects the memories of his British Open experience, when Padraig Harrington beat Sergio Garcia in a play-off to take the title, to come flooding back this weekend.

"The whole week was great," Bain said. "It's like playing in the [European] Champions League for a footballer.

"When I got to the course on Sunday, which is really early for me, there was nobody about and it was actually quite surreal. The famous greens stands were up and the [British] Open clock was there, but in a funny way it didn't feel like a big tournament.

"Then it crept up on me. As it got closer to Thursday, the crowds got bigger for practice and then it was mayhem. My final practice was with Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy and we got some big numbers for that because those guys are top players."

Bain moved to Dubai at the age of five with his parents yet "grew up wanting to play the British Open".

"Along with the US Masters, that was the tournament every golfer wants to be a part of if they are honest," Bain said. "There is so much tradition, so many great winners, and when it starts on the Thursday [today], it's an incredible experience. Then you know it's a big event. The magic around it will never go away. It is quite something when you hear your name being called out on the first tee."

Bain, who played the third round with 2006 Open runner-up Chris DiMarco, finished six over with scores of 74, 72, 71 and 73 to finish as the highest player from the host country.

"The buzz all the way around the course over the four championship days is something you need to experience for yourself," Bain, who won US$29,820 (Dh109,533) in prize money, said. "I loved it.

"It was great that I played pretty solidly and made the weekend. I finished at six over for the tournament, which wasn't too bad given that we had tricky conditions."

Bain's coach for the week on the east coast of Scotland was Wayne Johnson, who is now the director of instruction at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.

"All I really said to Ross that week was to go out and play his shots and show people how good he was, which he did," Johnson said.

"It was great being there with him for four days. It was a terrific week. I worked with the great swing coach Butch Harmon and to walk inside the ropes with him during practice was fantastic.

"I went to my first [British] Open as a kid in 1969 and it's always an amazing experience. It will never lose that. The Open Championship, as I call it, is so special. There is nothing else like it."

Bain believes the fact the British Open is always played on a links course makes it one of the toughest examinations in the sport.

It is why, according to Bain, so many first-timers, especially Americans, struggle so much on their first visit to a British coastal course.

"Links golf is so different," Bain said. "The ball stops a lot quicker than a lot of guys are used to and the one part of your game which has to be top-notch is chipping. If you can't get up and down from around the green then you're in trouble."

"I am never one to talk about luck, but if there is one major championship where luck plays its part it is the British Open. Get on the wrong side of the draw and it could do you in. Just look at Rory McIlory last year. His second round was played in the rain and he blew up.

"I got the bad side of the draw on Saturday and lost my way on the back nine. I think I dropped three or four shots. It even happened to Tiger Woods in 2002 at Muirfield when he was at the absolute peak of his powers. The weather came in and took apart his game."

For the first time since 1994 - and only the second since the US Masters began in 1934 - none of the four majors are in the possession of an American. Despite boasting four players in the top 10 rankings, the US can expect that sequence to be continued this weekend, according to Bain and Johnson.

"I can see the winner coming from Europe, " Bain said. "I don't think there is an American in the field who can win. I'd like to see Lee Westwood get one at last, although Rory McIlroy is the man to beat, even if I agree that he should have played since the US Open."

Johnson said: "Rory is the man, but Sandwich is a quirky course and that might suit [Phil] Mickelson. But whoever wins will be remembered forever."

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

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Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad

Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym

Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army

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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.”

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Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners