Sergio Garcia, pictured during his title-winning tournament in 2017, will return to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic next year. Getty Images
Sergio Garcia, pictured during his title-winning tournament in 2017, will return to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic next year. Getty Images
Sergio Garcia, pictured during his title-winning tournament in 2017, will return to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic next year. Getty Images
Sergio Garcia, pictured during his title-winning tournament in 2017, will return to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic next year. Getty Images

Golf

Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio Garcia lead host of Ryder Cup stars confirmed for 2019 Omega Dubai Desert Classic

European captain Thomas Bjorn also set to compete at Emirates Golf Club as are Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter, Tyrrell Hatton and Thorbjorn Olesen

John McAuley
John McAuley

December 04, 2018

  • English
  • Arabic

European Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio Garcia have been confirmed for next month’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

The event, taking place January 24-27, will mark the tournament’s 30th anniversary by welcoming a host of Thomas Bjorn’s victorious team, including Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter, Tyrrell Hatton and Thorbjorn Olesen.

Bjorn, who captained Europe to a comprehensive 17.5-10.5 win against the United States at Le Golf National in France in October, will also compete for the title he captured in 2001. Lee Westwood, vice-captain in France, and Colin Montgomerie, Europe's winning captain at Celtic Manor in 2010, have added their names to the field as well.

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“We are looking forward to ensuring that our 30th edition continues to enhance Dubai’s growing reputation as a world-class golfing destination,” said tournament director David Spencer. “The players love our tournament because they get to spend time in our dynamic and vibrant city. No doubt when the winner’s name is etched on our Dallah trophy in 2019, the tradition of greatness will continue.”

The 2017 Desert Classic champion, Garcia went on to win the Masters two months after his victory at Emirates Golf Club. At this year's Ryder Cup, the Spaniard justified his inclusion as one of Bjorn’s wildcards by triumphing in three of his four matches. In doing so, Garcia became the most successful European in Ryder Cup history, with 25.5 points.

Fleetwood, meanwhile, formed a formidable partnership with Francesco Molinari to take four points from four, before being defeated in the singles by Tony Finau. The Englishman, winner of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA the past two years, recorded his best finish at the Desert Classic earlier this year, when he came home tied-6th.

Defending champion Haotong Li will return to the Majlis in attempt to repeat his impressive victory from January. The 23-year-old from China held off four-time major champion Rory McIlroy on Sunday to secure a one-shot victory.

India’s Shubhankar Sharma, the 2018 European Tour Rookie of the Year, has been confirmed for next month's event and will join Dubai-born amateur Rayhan Thomas and Jovan Rebula, the British amateur champion and nephew of the Classic’s only three-time champion, Ernie Els.

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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