Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, the target for American jibes before the event, led from the front as Europe won the Ryder Cup for the eighth time in the last 10 contests after being given an early scare at Gleneagles.
The home side were overwhelming favourites with a 10-6 overnight lead, but saw McDowell three down after five to rookie Jordan Spieth in the opening match and the unbeaten Justin Rose four down after six to Hunter Mahan.
At one point the United States were ahead in six matches, but McIlroy was about eight under par in thrashing Rickie Fowler five and four to put the first European point on the board and fellow Northern Irishman McDowell won five out of six holes from the 10th to complete a remarkable two and one victory.
With US Open champion Martin Kaymer beating Masters champion Bubba Watson and Rose also fighting back to claim a half, Europe were within sight of victory. Then Welshman Jamie Donaldson delivered in style, hitting his approach to the 15th to within inches of the hole to beat Keegan Bradley.
That prompted a handshake on the fairway between captains Paul McGinley and Tom Watson, the former being instantly hailed by his players and the latter certain to be criticised for a number of debatable decisions this week.
One of those was leaving five-time major winner Phil Mickelson, 44, on the sidelines all day Saturday, the first time that had happened in his 10 Ryder Cup appearances.
It was not the only controversy involving Mickelson, who made a sly reference to McIlroy’s court case with his former management company – which has involved current client McDowell – the left-hander responding to queries about American togetherness by saying: “Not only are we able to play together, we also don’t litigate against each other and that’s a real plus.”
McIlroy and McDowell insisted their relationship had been made stronger by the situation and had the last laugh on the course, McIlroy producing his best golf of the week to crush Fowler and steady European nerves.
“I was just so up for it, more so than I was in the two majors I won (this year),” McIlroy said. “There was no option other than to win. I played my best golf, six under through six, that built a comfortable lead I was able to hang on to.”
McDowell, who was disappointed to have played just two foursomes matches before the singles, said: “I’m really proud of myself the way I played the back nine. I’m just relieved, the captain put a big role on me and I’m just happy I could deliver.”
Donaldson had already contributed two points from two foursomes outings with Lee Westwood and was never behind to Bradley, moving four up with birdies on the 11th and 12th and making sure of the half point to retain the trophy with a par on the 14th.
It was only a matter of time before outright victory was confirmed and Donaldson did not disappoint.
“I hit the wedge shot of my life to close the game out. I can’t really put words to it. It is unbelievable,” the Welshman said.
“I knew it was getting tight there at the end and everyone was building on my group. I just tried not to spend too much time looking at the scoreboard.
“I was able to do it well enough to close it out. The lads have got on so well all week. There has been a great craic in there, it is an incredible week. It is hard to describe how good it is – there is nothing else like it in golf. It has been amazing to be a part of it.”
Europe’s players were quick to praise McGinley, who received public support from the likes of McIlroy, Ian Poulter and Luke Donald when the post was being decided in January 2013.
Sergio Garcia, who beat Jim Furyk on the 18th, said: “He has been so methodical. Every single aspect he needed to touch on, he did.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of great captains but Paul did things a little bit differently but with great style.
“He has been a little bit more of a modern captain, taking care of every single detail. He knew what we had was good and working but improved it without changing it.”
McIlroy said: “I can’t say enough about the captain. Paul has been absolutely immense this week. He has left no stone unturned. He has given this week a lot of thought over the last two years.
“I am just glad it worked out for him.”
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UAE squad
Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)
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.”
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
