Having astonished the golfing world with his remarkable composure in record-breaking style at the Masters, Jordan Spieth will again rely on his putting as he aims for a first green jacket at Augusta National.
The 21-year-old American will take a four-shot lead into Sunday’s final round after holding off the challenge of some of the biggest names in the game while also rebounding from a double-bogey at the 17th with a gutsy par save at the last.
Spieth got up and down from a tricky lie to the right of the green at the 18th, hitting a flop shot nine feet past the hole and nervelessly sinking the putt for a two-under 70 on a steamy Saturday afternoon.
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“It was huge,” the Texan said of his par save after finishing up with a Masters record total of 16-under 200 after 54 holes. “Just to see one go in after the disappointment there on 17 where I probably should have hit three-wood off the tee.”
Spieth, who tied for second at last year’s Masters, had been seven strokes clear after sinking a 14-foot birdie putt at the par-three 16th but rued his decision to take driver off the tee at the 17th where his ball ended up way left in the treeline.
After hitting his second shot short and right of the green, he faced a very difficult chip from a downhill lie into the grain which he left just short of the putting surface, from where he three-putted for a double.
“We knew 17 was a par hole, driver should never have come out of my bag at that point,” Spieth said.
“Not that I’m playing any differently than if I were tied or behind, but it’s a downwind hole.
“I was getting a little erratic with the driver and I can hit three-wood, eight-iron in there and have a 20-footer to two-putt. I was very frustrated with that decision, given I don’t want decision making to ever cost me in an event like this.”
Overall, though, Spieth has produced brilliant golf as he remained in control despite impressive 67s from Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson, and 68s from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
“When I got out there today and saw a couple putts go in, I felt really comfortable,” said Spieth.
“That’s something in the weekend under pressure that’s kind of hurt me a little bit, but recently I’ve been making a lot of putts.
“Maybe I got a little anxious at times today, but all in all I kept it together with the putter.”
PAIRINGS AND TEE TIMES (Times UAE)
6pm: Thongchai Jaidee (THA)
6.10pm: Darren Clarke (NIR), Vijay Singh (FIJ)
6.20pm: Jamie Donaldson (WAL), Graeme McDowell (NIR)
6.30pm: Erik Compton (USA), Anirban Lahiri (IND)
6.40pm: Jason Dufner (USA), Jimmy Walker (USA)
6.50pm: Mark O’Meara (USA), Steve Stricker (USA)
7pm: Keegan Bradley (USA), Danny Willett (ENG)
7.10pm: Ryan Palmer (USA), Matt Kuchar (USA)
7.20pm: Chris Kirk (USA), Geoff Ogilvy (AUS)
7.30pm: Morgan Hoffmann (USA), John Senden (AUS)
7.40pm: OPEN
7.50pm: Patrick Reed (USA), Bae Sang-Moon (KOR)
8pm: Webb Simpson (USA), Noh Seung-Yul (KOR)
8.10pm: Henrik Stenson (SWE), Brooks Koepka (USA)
8.20pm: Adam Scott (AUS), Lee Westwood (ENG)
8.30pm: Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Bubba Watson (USA)
8.40pm: Cameron Tringale (USA), Rickie Fowler (USA)
8.50pm: Angel Cabrera (ARG), Ernie Els (RSA)
9pm: Russell Henley (USA), Charl Schwartzel (RSA)
9.10pm: Sergio Garcia (ESP), Ryan Moore (USA)
9.20pm: OPEN
9.30pm: Bill Haas (USA), Hunter Mahan (USA)
9.40pm: Jason Day (AUS), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA)
9.50pm: Zach Johnson (USA), Jonas Blixt (SWE)
10pm: Paul Casey (ENG), Ian Poulter (ENG)
10.10pm: Dustin Johnson (USA), Hideki Matsuyama (JPN)
10.20pm: Kevin Streelman (USA), Kevin Na (USA)
10.30pm: Rory McIlroy (NIR), Tiger Woods (USA)
10.40pm: Phil Mickelson (USA), Charley Hoffman (USA)
10.50pm: Jordan Spieth (USA), Justin Rose (ENG)
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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.”
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
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