Jose Maria Olazabal has insisted there is no chance of him continuing as European Ryder Cup captain, despite his team's dramatic victory in the United States.
The Spaniard, whose side produced an incredible comeback from 10-4 down to clinch a remarkable win at Medinah by 14 1/2 points to 13 1/2, claimed there were a host of other deserving candidates to captain the team at Gleneagles in 2014.
Asked about taking on the captaincy again, Olazabal told a press conference at Heathrow: "I can assure you that's going to be a no, period."
He pointed to the likes of Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn, three of his vice-captains, as well as Paul Lawrie, Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington as viable contenders for the role.
"There are a lot of players who should have the opportunity to be in my spot," he said.
"It would be unfair of me to just name one for the next Ryder Cup. All of them deserve that position."
Olazabal hailed his team's fightback as "extraordinary" as he revealed the drama of the final day of competition made him feel "alive".
"[Being captain] is difficult, in a way it's torture," he said.
"It's really tough on your nerves, but that's the beauty of the Ryder Cup. It's a huge adrenaline flow and that's what we live for to be honest - the pressure, the tension, the adrenaline flow makes us feel alive."
The Spaniard added: "I don't know if it's (the comeback) a miracle, but it's something extraordinary to be honest.
"We haven't seen that before.
"What the players achieved that day was just amazing. It's up to you to decide if it's the greatest moment or the greatest comeback in history but they (the players) deserve all the credit.
"We have this wonderful trophy here with us because of the huge achievement of those 12 men. They didn't stop believing and the performance they showed on Sunday was just incredible."
The captain has been inundated by messages of congratulation from the likes of Rafael Nadal and also the King of Spain.
"He was, like me, pretty much over the moon," said Olazabal. "That was a nice one."
Olazabal revealed there was one moment on Sunday when he could sense victory was within reach.
"Saturday afternoon was crucial, those last two matches were crucial for the outcome of the cup," he said.
"But it's true on Sunday there was a moment which was quite special. I was standing on the 12th tee waiting for Lee (Westwood) to come on to the tee and I looked at the board and at that point all five matches had already been won by Europe."
He added: "Lee came on to the tee and asked how we were doing. I had done my maths and knew we still had a chance of winning it and I had to walk away, I was very emotional at that point."
The Spaniard was even able to take Rory McIlroy's poor time-keeping in his stride.
Thinking that his match with Keegan Bradley started at 12.25pm instead of 11.25am, McIlroy was still at the team hotel when he got a panicked phone call telling him he had 25 minutes to get to the first tee.
The world number one had read the tee times on his phone in Eastern time, while Medinah operates on Central time, and he was given an escort to the course by a state trooper.
Olazabal added: "Luckily enough a police car was there and he made it on time. It was no surprise at all he managed to win his point."
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Benevento (Kick-off 11.45pm)
Saturday Crotone v Spezia (6pm), Torino v Udinese (9pm), Lazio v Verona (11.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Atalanta v Fiorentina (6pm), Napoli v Sampdoria (6pm), Bologna v Roma (6pm), Genoa v Juventus (9pm), AC Milan v Parma (11.45pm)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
- Don’t eat dessert every day
- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
- Always go for natural whole foods over processed, packaged foods. Ask yourself would your grandmother have eaten it?
- Read food labels if you really do feel the need to buy processed food
- Eat everything in moderation
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The specs: 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali
Price, base / as tested Dh207,846 / Dh220,000
Engine 6.2L V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque 624Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined 13.5L / 100km
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