There was something unusual in the opening round of the US Open.
A bunch of scores in the 60s.
Martin Kaymer headlined the day with a banner round, jumping out to the lead with a 5-under 65.
Graeme McDowell, Kevin Na and Brendon de Jonge also took advantage of favourable conditions to shoot 2-under 68.
Seven other players were in the clubhouse with 69s. With plenty of contenders still out on the course, it seemed certain there would be more under-par rounds in this opening round than the last two years combined.
At Merion a year ago, only five players broke par on Thursday.
At Olympic Club in 2012, there were just six scores in the 60s.
No one expected Pinehurst to stay this inviting through the weekend.
“There was some moisture on the greens and you were able to hold shots,” Na said. “I was able to capitalise on a good tee time. But there’s a long way to go. Obviously, I’m 2-under par right now, but at the end of the tournament even par is going to win this championship.”
That’s still a good bet.
The last two winners finished over par.
Kaymer was atop the scoreboard as first round play neared its end on Thursday at the Donald Ross masterpiece, which has undergone a drastic makeover to restore its rustic look, with patches of natural vegetation – better known as weeds – taking the place of thick, lush rough.
Phil Mickelson got off to a strong start as well in his bid for the career Grand Slam, attacking the course with deft iron shots on the way to shooting 70.
McDowell, who won the US Open at Pebble Beach in 2010, was as steady as can be in the sand hills of North Carolina. The Northern Irishman bounced back from his only bogey at No 4 with an eagle-3 at the par-five fifth hole. He added another birdie at the 14th and the rest of his card was filled in with pars, just the sort of solid, mistake-free golf that is required at a major championship won the last two years with above-par scores.
“You don’t have to strike it amazing around here,” McDowell said. “You just have to position the ball correctly at all times.”
Na also made an eagle at No 5 on the way to the best Open round of his career. He missed the cut in both 2010 and 2011, and finished 9-over at his last Open two years ago.
After thick cloud cover made things easier for the morning players, the blistering sun broke through and the temperature climbed to 90 by mid-afternoon.
Still, there were some low scores to be had, including Dustin Johnson with a 69. He joined a group that included a pair of dazzling youngsters, 20-year-old Jordan Spieth and 22-year-old Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
Not everyone was thriving. The world’s top-ranked playerr, Adam Scott, shot 73. Masters champion Bubba Watson sprayed shots all over the place on the way to a 76.
Spieth was in the thick of things again, making four birdies to put himself in contention at another major championship. He was tied for the lead heading to the final round of both the Masters and The Players Championship, but couldn’t close out either on Sunday. It seems just a matter of time before the young Texan claims a career-defining triumph.
Maybe it will be at Pinehurst.
“I had a lot of fun today. You don’t normally say that at the US Open,” Spieth said. “I was able to get into the flow early, and able to keep it going. One-under – I would take that four times.”
Matt Kuchar, who has never won a major title, shot 3-under 32 on the front side but a shaky finish knocked him out of the lead. He bogeyed the 16th and 17th before his par putt at the final hole tumbled into the cup on its last turn, bringing out a smile as he headed toward the clubhouse with a 69.
Also at 69 were Brandt Snedeker, Brendon Todd and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, along with less-heralded names like Harris English, Keegan Bradley and Francesco Molinari. Little-known American Fran Quinn sat 1-under with two holes to play, as well.
Snedeker made Pinehurst look like the local muni on the front side, making the turn with a 31. The course bit back on the back side; Snedeker bogeyed the 10th, took a double-bogey at No 11, and fell back to even par on the day with another bogey at the 12th. Snedeker pulled it together, sinking a couple birdies coming back to the clubhouse to put himself solidly in contention for his first major title.
Mickelson already has five majors, but this is the one he wants more than any other. Lefty has been the runner-up a record six times in this event, denying him the only big title missing from his resume. He’s changed his grip to deal with a shaky putter, hoping that would help bring his first victory since capturing the British Open last July.
“This is a golf course where I get a similar feeling to Augusta,” Mickelson said. “You don’t have to be perfect. You always have a chance. It is challenging. There are difficult shots. But they’re manageable.”
In recent weeks, Mickelson has been linked to an insider trading investigation. Clearly, he was able to stay focused on the course.
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” he said. “I’m willing to help out and would love to help out any way I can with the investigation.”
Rory McIlroy, who won the 2011 US Open in a rout at Congressional, opened with a 71.
Defending champion Justin Rose, who held off Mickelson a year ago at Merion, shot 72. There hasn’t been a repeat winner in this championship since Curtis Strange in 1988-89.
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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.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
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By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
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