Progress of Mena golfers in shade at UAE’s crossroad for Asian and European Tours

DUBAI // Is someone actively holding back the development of Middle East and North African golfers?

The chief executive of Golf in Dubai suggested exactly that yesterday when asked why the embryonic Mena Tour is not yet able to provide world rankings points to its players.

The Mena Tour, launched by Mohamed Juma Buamaim, the vice chairman and chief executive of Golf in Dubai, is into its fourth full season but endures an uneasy relationship with the sport’s global sanctioning bodies, such as the International Federation of PGA Golf Tours.

The Official World Golf Rankings recognise 14 international tours, ranging from the European and PGA tours to the Korean Golf Tour and southern Africa’s Sunshine Tour.

The Mena Tour, however, continues to be overlooked. Buamaim, speaking at the launch of the inaugural Dubai Open, called the fight for recognition an “ongoing battle”.

“It’s a subject I am talking about every day,” he said.

“We need world ranking points, not only for the players, but also any tour the size of the Mena Tour needs financial support. The logistics are so big and expensive.

Without the sanctioning from the international body, it is becoming more and more difficult to get the sponsors.” If players on the Mena Tour received ranking points for playing across the region, they would become eligible for potential Olympic Games participation.

It would also mean European Tour events in the region, including the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, would likely be co-sanctioned, opening up the field to more Mena Tour invitees.

“We have done whatever we can to try to gain the sanctioning,” Buamaim said. “Somebody does not understand what the Tour is all about.

“Maybe they think it is a small tour in Europe and want us to feed into another smaller tour, but that doesn’t work.

“We are a region and we should be given the full sanction as ourselves.”

This season, the Mena Tour involves nine events across three countries with six held in the UAE, two in Morocco and one in Oman. All nine are 54-hole tournaments with prize money ranging from US$25,000 (Dh92,000) to $75,000 and include slots for professionals and amateurs.

“When we started four years ago, we were told that after three years we would get it. It didn’t happen. Instead, they introduced many different conditions we have to deal with,” Buamaim said. “I feel there is somebody trying to stop it. There is no other explanation.

“Otherwise, why would they introduce all these new criteria and difficulties for us? I don’t understand. It is too big a region not to have its own tour.”

In 1995 and 1997, Dubai Creek Golf Club featured on the now-defunct Asian PGA Tour, but when sponsors dried up, the event slipped off the calendar.

In 2004, Asian professionals formed a new body named the Asian Tour and the emirate has not been involved since, opting to focus solely on its higher-profile European Tour event, the Desert Classic, and, later, the Race to Dubai.

This weekend’s Dubai Open at the Els Club is the the first Asian Tour event to be held in the emirate, and 24 Mena Tour players have been invited to take part.

With the top 60 players in Asia’s Order of Merit attaining world ranking points, the continued involvement of Mena players is a driving factor in Golf in Dubai’s decision to embrace the Asian Tour.

Faycal Serghini, a Moroccan on the Mena Tour, said being afforded the opportunity to play at an Asian Tour event this weekend was a step towards realising his ambition. “Being able to play in an Asian Tour event like this one is a great way to get ranking points and to qualify for the Olympics,” he said.

“Playing in the Olympics is the dream of every Moroccan golfer, so the best thing would be if we start getting world rankings points on the Mena Tour.”

Buamaim, however, said that while the Mena Tour also has three invites to the Desert Classic, players are not going to make substantial rankings points from one or two tournaments. “That is why we need to be fully sanctioned,” he said.

“In order to encourage the young players in the region, we need to give them more. If we are ever hoping to make the Olympics one day, how are we going to get there if we don’t have rankings?”

gmeenaghan@thenational.ae

Abu Dhabi traffic facts

Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road

The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.

Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.

The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.

The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.

Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019

The Bio

Name: Lynn Davison

Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi

Children: She has one son, Casey, 28

Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK

Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Favourite Author: CJ Sansom

Favourite holiday destination: Bali

Favourite food: A Sunday roast

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

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

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai

Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

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.”

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

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Kumulus Water

Started: 2021

Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid

Based: Tunisia

Sector: Water technology

Number of staff: 22

Investment raised: $4 million

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

The%20specs

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Mina Cup winners

Under 12 – Minerva Academy

Under 14 – Unam Pumas

Under 16 – Fursan Hispania

Under 18 – Madenat

Poacher

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