Woods suffers new low after 18-over par total

Tiger Woods will go into this week's US PGA Championship with his game in total disarray and the emotional state of his mind highly questionable after a career-worst performance at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. The American struggled to a stunning seven-over-par 77 in yesterday's final round at Firestone Country Club, his highest last day score as a professional, to lie second-last in the 80-strong field.

At a venue where he has previously reigned supreme with seven victories in 11 starts, world No 1 Woods carded two double-bogeys in the last five holes to post an 18-over total of 298. It was his highest 72-hole aggregate on the PGA Tour, his worst relative to par and the first time since the 2003 PGA Championship he had strung together four rounds over par. "[I'm] just not playing well," a grim-faced Woods told reporters after completing his round nearly three hours before the leaders were scheduled to tee off.

"Shooting 18 over par is not fun. The only thing I can say all week is I was patient, and unfortunately that's not enough." Looking ahead to the USA PGA, he added: "I have got to be ready come Thursday. That is all that matters. I need to hit the ball better, chip better, putt better, score better." Woods also said that while he right now did not deserve to be picked for the American team for October's Ryder Cup showdown against Europe in Wales, there was plenty of time to turn his game around before the matches.

"I would not help the team if I am playing like this," he added. "I think I can turn it around, but we have got a lot of time between now and then, which is good." Meanwhile, Colin Montgomerie, the European captain, is considering handing a Ryder Cup wild card to Bernhard Langer, even though the German stopped playing mainstream golf several years ago. Langer, 53, played the last of his ten Ryder Cups at The Belfry in 2002 and now competes on the seniors Champions Tour in America.

In the last three weeks he has won both the British Seniors Open and the US Seniors Open. Montgomerie believes his vast Cup experience could be invaluable to a Europe team which looks like containing at least four rookies. "I would not rule out picking Bernhard," Montgomerie said. "I'm not ruling out anybody, especially someone who has performed to that degree and is in the form of his life." Montgomerie said to win the British Seniors at Carnoustie, then travel eight time zones and beat local favourite Fred Couples at the US Seniors Open in Seattle was no mean feat.

"He [Langer] said afterwards that he used everything he had learned in the Ryder Cup to overcome a very vocal home support and I think it wouldn't be such a dramatic move pick to have someone of that age and that experience in the team. "It wouldn't be such an out-of-the-blue pick. I think he's playing as well as he ever has and he's said he is." There is a danger that Montgomerie will not have the services of European No 1 and World No 3 Lee Westwood, who pulled out of the Bridgestone Invitational after two rounds on Friday with a calf injury.

The Englishman says he will need at least six week of rest and treatment before he can return to golf, which leaves him little recovery time. * Agencies

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

How Voiss turns words to speech

The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen

The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser

This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen

A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB

The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free

Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards

Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser

Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages

At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness

More than 90 per cent live in developing countries

The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device

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.”

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

Woods suffers new low after 18-over par total

A total of 280 is his worst as a professional but the American is confident he can find form to be part of the US Ryder Cup bid.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

How Voiss turns words to speech

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Pharaoh's curse