The British Open experienced a case of deja vu on Thursday with glorious weather at Royal Liverpool and Tiger Woods high on the leaderboard in the opening round.
But it was a man who was not present the last time the event was held on this course, in 2006, who shone the brightest. Young Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy carded a flawless 66 to be the leader after the first round.
McIlroy continued his trend of getting off to flying starts in tournaments in 2014, firing birdies at the second, fifth and sixth to be out in 32 and adding more on the 10th, 12th and 16th.
At 6 under, he held a one-shot lead over Italian Matteo Manassero, whose compatriots Edoardo and Francesco Molinari were a shot further back alongside Sergio Garcia and American duo Jim Furyk and Brooks Koepka.
Woods, playing his first major after back surgery on March 31, was lurking on three under, the 38 year old using his driver once, on the par-five 16th, as he did in 2006. On that occasion, the driver was never used again on the rock-hard links.
The course was greener this time, but the ball was still bounding along the fairways and McIlroy was delighted to take advantage.
“Any time you shoot 66 at the Open Championship, you’re going to be pleased,” the 25 year old said. “We had perfect scoring conditions out there this morning. There wasn’t much wind early on and there were plenty of opportunities to make birdies, and I was able to take a few of them.
“It’s another great start and, yeah, looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow.”
That was a reference to his unfortunate habit of following good rounds on Thursday with bad ones on Friday, the latest example being scores of 64 and 78 in the Scottish Open last week.
“Whenever I go out and play on Thursdays, there are not really many expectations,” said McIlroy, who also led the 2010 Open after an opening 63 at St Andrews but followed with an 80 in bad weather.
“You’re going out there and you’re trying to find a rhythm and you’re just trying to play your way into the round.
“When you go back out on Friday after a good score you know what you can do, so you’re going out with some expectations compared to Thursday. I think I’ve just got to approach it like that, start off trying to hit solid shots the first few holes and play my way into the round, just like I did today.”
Woods missed the cut in his comeback event at the end of last month and looked set for more woe after dropping shots on his first two holes – he only had two bogeys in the first 36 holes in 2006 – but crucially saved par from eight feet on the fourth and picked up his first birdie of the day on the next.
A hat-trick of birdies from the 11th – where he holed from off the green – was followed by a bogey on the 14th, but Woods responded with birdies on the 15th and 16th to return a 69.
“I knew I could do it. That’s why it was so important for me to play at Congressional,” he said. “At Congressional I made some terrible mistakes mentally. My decisions weren’t very crisp and I wasn’t decisive enough. Today was totally different and consequently I shot a better score.
“I’m getting stronger, I’m getting faster, I’m getting more explosive. The ball is starting to travel again and those are all positive things.”
The negative thing as far as Woods was concerned was a repeat of the distractions in 2006 from spectators’ phones and cameras, which led to a ban the next year.
He backed off his second shot to the 18th green twice, stopping midway through his downswing the first time.
Mobile phones and other devices were allowed back into the Open in 2012 and the R&A have installed a “Wi-Fi mesh” around the course to allow spectators to use them to keep up to date with the action.
Asked if catering to spectators in this manner was something of a double-edged sword, Woods said: “Just put it on silent. I’ve had numerous years of dealing with this. There’s a lot of moving parts out there and you’ve just got to stay focused and plod my way around.”
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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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Saturday's results
Brighton 1-1 Leicester City
Everton 1-0 Cardiff City
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 0-3 Liverpool
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City
'Nightmare Alley'
Director:Guillermo del Toro
Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Rating: 3/5
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
How The Debt Panel's advice helped readers in 2019
December 11: 'My husband died, so what happens to the Dh240,000 he owes in the UAE?'
JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”
November 26: ‘I owe Dh100,000 because my employer has not paid me for a year’
SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue.
SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."
October 15: 'I lost my job and left the UAE owing Dh71,000. Can I return?'
MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.
“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December."
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
