DUBAI //So much for the sense of anti-climax, then. A season-ending event with the Race to Dubai already decided was suggested to offer little more than a quiet conclusion to 2012.
Yet, judging by the chatter yesterday at Jumeirah Golf Estates, this DP World Tour Championship actually means something. At least to Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald, the top two players in the world, who posted a pair of third-round 66s to lead the field, tied on 17 under.
The ranking rivals exchanged places at golf’s summit during a few frantic months towards the beginning of the year, yet McIlroy’s sublime second half to the season – he was triumphed three times since August – ensures he begins today’s round comfortably as world No 1.
Underlining that position is paramount.
“It’s very important,” said McIlroy, who this evening will be crowned Race to Dubai champion, having sewn up the trophy three weeks ago. “No matter what happens I’ll be No 1 going into next year, but it’ll be nice to put an exclamation mark on it.
“I really want to win, I think that’s obvious. I wanted to finish the season well and this is a golf course and a really big tournament I want to play well in.
“I’ve been very motivated this week for some reason. Coming off the back of a missed cut last win [in Hong Kong] you’re motivated to try and get back in the right direction and keep going forward.”
Standing in McIlroy’s tracks, though, is a formidable obstacle. Donald measures as one of the shorter players on the European Tour – in stature and in driving distance – yet his game from 100 yards in is unerringly dependable.
The world No 2 enjoys the Earth Course, too, having failed to register a bogey in 100 consecutive holes here, the last a five on the eighth during last year’s second round.
“Well, if you look at it logically, it means he’s due a bogey,” said McIlroy following a round that included only one of his own, on the first. The Northern Irishman recovered sufficiently to fire five birdies and an eagle.
“You just have to concentrate on yourself and not think about what Luke’s doing. Every time I’ve went out with a chance to win I’ve played well, and whether that means I’ve won or been beat like in China against Peter Hanson [in last month’s BMW Masters], I’ve still played well and given myself a good chance.
“That’s what I want to do tomorrow.”
For Donald, winner of the 2011 season crown, today represents an opportunity to end the campaign with consecutive titles. The Englishman took the Dunlop Phoenix trophy in Japan last Sunday, although he realises a chasing pack headed by Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen, both major championship winners three shots behind, means it is not merely a shootout between him and McIlroy.
“In terms of my own confidence, it would be a great way to finish off the year,” Donald said. “Any time you’re playing against the best player in the world, if you can go head-to-head and come out on top, you’re going to come away feeling good about things.
“But you can’t get too complacent. Obviously this is a course that can throw out some low scores, and there are some great players behind Rory and I.
“Rory’s hitting it so far right now, so it’s a different course for us. But I know how to play to my own strengths and that’s what I’ll be concentrating on. It’s not that difficult for me; I just have to play my own game and not get ahead of myself.”
Behind Schwartzel and Oosthuizen lies Branden Grace, another South African with victory in his sights. However, the four-time winner this season, tied-fifth on 12-under alongside Joost Luiten, believes Donald, especially, will take some stopping.
“It’s going to be hard to catch Luke,” Grace said. “He played world class today, the way he putted was remarkable. Everything he looked at, he made. That’s why he’s No 2 in the world.
Perhaps the only man capable of stopping him, then, is golf's No1.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
Follow us
@SprtNationalUAE
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
The%C2%A0specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.4-litre%2C%20twin-turbo%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E617hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E750Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh630%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 390bhp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Related
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):
Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Match will be shown on BeIN Sports
Ad Astra
Director: James Gray
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Five out of five stars
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.”
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Australia tour of Pakistan
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: T20I, Rawalpindi
