Over the past two decades there have been a couple of staple truisms about the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. The first is that Rory McIlroy will more than likely be contending for the title.
The second is that he will, at some point over the course of the week, be quizzed about his prospects of finally winning the Masters.
Having been confirmed as returning to play at the Majlis Course at the start of next season, he will be hoping the former remains true, safe in the knowledge the latter is no longer pertinent.
Ahead of his first tee shot at Emirates Golf Club on Thursday, January 22, he will be announced as the Masters champion. He will have been hearing that for nine months by that point, but he is unlikely to tire of it any time soon.
“For him to be a Grand Slam champion at such a young age is amazing,” said Simon Corkill, the tournament director of the Desert Classic.
“It had been bearing down on him, wanting to win it, and he hadn’t won a major for a while. For him to tee off as the Masters champion, we will be very proud to have him.”
That is a common sentiment within golf in Dubai: the sense of pride in their association with McIlroy.
January’s tournament will mark 20 years since the Northern Irishman first came to play at the Desert Classic, as a precocious if somewhat less starry 16-year-old amateur.
It would be untrue to say he was completely unknown back then. But it was only really serious golfing anoraks, as well as sports fans local to McIlroy back at home who knew exactly the extent of the teenager’s talent.
Corkill recounts a story of when he was working at the Australian Masters when McIlroy came to play that tournament early in his career. The tournament director was in conversation with Lyndsay Stephen, the Australian golf commentator, and Andrew Cotter, from the BBC.
“We were chatting in the media centre beforehand and Lyndsay said, ‘Who’s this Rory bloke – is he any good?’” Corkill said.
“Andrew, in his dulcet Scottish tones, turned and said, ‘Lyndsay, he is going to be one of the best in the world that you will ever see.’
“Greatness was predicted for him then, and he has gone on to do that now with his five majors, which is amazing. Hopefully he can make it five Desert Classics this year.”
When McIlroy first started at the Majlis, he could go about his golf unencumbered by the attention he has now.
Back in 2006, his viewing public was not much more than his dad carrying his bag, and his mum beyond the ropes.
Now, the galleries that follow him are usually the biggest in the sport. So vast are they at the Desert Classic, Corkill says there is a special action plan in place for when McIlroy is on the course.
Security is upped, in consultation with McIlroy’s own personal guard. Even the concession stands in the tournament village are put on notice, “to make sure they know the stampede is coming”.
“You can see the sandstorm in the distance as his group goes round,” Corkill said.
“When he finishes, there is a big rush towards the tournament town, and we have to make sure everything is ready, cooked, and prepared, otherwise that surge of crowd is disappointed if you don’t cater for it.”
January’s tournament will be McIlroy’s 16th appearance in the Desert Classic since his debut in 2006. He made the cut for the first time as a professional the following year, while in 2009, it was the venue for his first win as a pro.
That first of what has become four wins at the tournament was by one stroke from Justin Rose, the same player he beat in a play-off at Augusta in April to win the Masters, and become just the sixth golfer to achieve the career Grand Slam.
He won the Dallah Trophy again in 2015, then back-to-back in 2023 and 2024. Although Tyrrell Hatton came between him and a hat-trick at the start of this season, Corkill said the Northern Irishman already had it in mind to come back.
“He didn’t win, but he played very well on the last day [finally finishing tied-fourth, three strokes behind Hatton],” Corkill said.
“I spoke to him at the end, saying, ‘Do you want to do this again next year?’ He said, ‘If the crowd and atmosphere is just like this, then count me in.’
“He essentially committed on the Sunday of the tournament last year. Let’s hope he is up there [again in January], and there are lots of players giving him a run for his money, because he is tough to beat around the Majlis.
“He is the Master of the Majlis, and it is very appropriate that he will continue to be that this year, with his Masters crown.”
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
- Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
- Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
- Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
- Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
- 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
- Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
What should do investors do now?
What does the S&P 500's new all-time high mean for the average investor?
Should I be euphoric?
No. It's fine to be pleased about hearty returns on your investments. But it's not a good idea to tie your emotions closely to the ups and downs of the stock market. You'll get tired fast. This market moment comes on the heels of last year's nosedive. And it's not the first or last time the stock market will make a dramatic move.
So what happened?
It's more about what happened last year. Many of the concerns that triggered that plunge towards the end of last have largely been quelled. The US and China are slowly moving toward a trade agreement. The Federal Reserve has indicated it likely will not raise rates at all in 2019 after seven recent increases. And those changes, along with some strong earnings reports and broader healthy economic indicators, have fueled some optimism in stock markets.
"The panic in the fourth quarter was based mostly on fears," says Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist for Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. "The fundamentals have mostly held up, while the fears have gone away and the fears were based mostly on emotion."
Should I buy? Should I sell?
Maybe. It depends on what your long-term investment plan is. The best advice is usually the same no matter the day — determine your financial goals, make a plan to reach them and stick to it.
"I would encourage (investors) not to overreact to highs, just as I would encourage them not to overreact to the lows of December," Mr Schutte says.
All the same, there are some situations in which you should consider taking action. If you think you can't live through another low like last year, the time to get out is now. If the balance of assets in your portfolio is out of whack thanks to the rise of the stock market, make adjustments. And if you need your money in the next five to 10 years, it shouldn't be in stocks anyhow. But for most people, it's also a good time to just leave things be.
Resist the urge to abandon the diversification of your portfolio, Mr Schutte cautions. It may be tempting to shed other investments that aren't performing as well, such as some international stocks, but diversification is designed to help steady your performance over time.
Will the rally last?
No one knows for sure. But David Bailin, chief investment officer at Citi Private Bank, expects the US market could move up 5 per cent to 7 per cent more over the next nine to 12 months, provided the Fed doesn't raise rates and earnings growth exceeds current expectations. We are in a late cycle market, a period when US equities have historically done very well, but volatility also rises, he says.
"This phase can last six months to several years, but it's important clients remain invested and not try to prematurely position for a contraction of the market," Mr Bailin says. "Doing so would risk missing out on important portfolio returns."
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m. Winner: Majd Al Megirat, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Shehhi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: Dassan Da, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Heba Al Wathba, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Harbour Spirit, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.
MATCH INFO
UAE Division 1
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 12-24 Abu Dhabi Saracens
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 0
Manchester City 2
Bernardo Silva 54', Sane 66'
Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Medicus AI
Started: 2016
Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh
Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai
Sector: Health Tech
Staff: 119
Funding: €7.7 million (Dh31m)
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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