An intriguing side issue of the first month-long Desert Swing was the ongoing battle for the world No 1 ranking which until last year had been the undisputed property of Tiger Woods.
Four key questions supplemented the routine inquiries into eagles and double bogeys as the European Tour circus swept through Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar and Dubai.
Could Lee Westwood remain No 1 after performing so well to get there?
How long will it take Martin Kaymer to get there?
Will Phil Mickelson ever get there?
And can Tiger Woods get back there?
The last of those questions is uppermost in the mind, not just because the evidence presented is the freshest, coming during the conclusion of a desperately tight Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
A third victory for Woods on the Majlis Course would have started a tidal wave of euphoria that the good times were returning for the American after a barren spell spanning 17 events over 15 months.
Even a near miss - he was one of 20 players in with a chance of winning on the final day - would have done wonders to restore the on-course credibility of the most famous figure in the game. We got neither.
Instead the conclusion has to be that Woods, nearly a full year into his comeback, is no nearer redemption as he steps up his quest to add to the four more major titles he needs to match Jack Nicklaus's record haul of 18.
The stage was set for Tiger to start roaring again.
One shot behind the joint leaders going into the final round, he was undoubtedly the opponent most of the title contenders were watching most warily.
They need not have worried. Woods, whose reputation has been built on transforming inviting final-round situations into titles, failed to complete the job at the moment of truth.
It happened at another of his productive venues - Torrey Pines - in his previous appearance and it happened again at Emirates Golf Club as he failed to keep pace with Spain's Alvaro Quiros, the eventual winner, and most of the other 20 men who had taken a tantalising glance at the Coffee Pot Trophy.
Woods, who wrestles frustratingly with an as-yet uncompleted overhaul of his once-famed swing, probably will not look back too fondly at his eventual fulfilment of his Dubai contract after withdrawing from the previous two tournaments here because of injury and the scandal surrounding his private life.
Not only did his game fall short of his expectations, his behaviour yet again slumped to an unacceptable level when he spat on the 12th green a few feet away from the hole.
His actions drew a fine from the sport's governing body.
In the end, Woods's underachievement in Dubai helped with the answer of those other three questions about those battling to make the top of the world rankings.
Westwood, who was a shot off the lead when a lost ball at the penultimate hole wrecked his chances, will feel he turned in a performance more befitting a world No 1 than he did in Abu Dhabi where he finished a lowly 64th and in Doha where he suffered a rare missed cut.
Westwood, whose credentials are undermined by the lack of a major title (he has been "on the podium" in all four but never quite reached the summit), has managed to hold a resurgent Kaymer at bay in the Gulf after the German's runaway win in Abu Dhabi left him with a chance of snatching the top ranking in Qatar.
Kaymer clearly looks destined to be No 1 one day but the US PGA champion's substandard displays in Doha (28th) and Dubai (31st) suggest he will need a few more rehearsals before he is ready to step up from understudy into the leading role.
None of the current crop of players has been groomed more for the No 1 ranking than the American, Mickelson.
His arrival in the region for the first time to compete in Abu Dhabi enabled him to go head-to-head with the top two as Woods did in Dubai.
But Mickelson finished 19 shots and 36 places behind Kaymer.
At the age of 40, Mickelson may now be resigned to reaching the end of his productive career of four major victories and 38 other titles without endorsing his record with a spell, even a brief one, as - officially - the leading member of his profession.
wjohnson@thenational.ae
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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
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.”
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SPECS
Mini John Cooper Works Clubman and Mini John Cooper Works Countryman
Engine: two-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 306hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: JCW Clubman, Dh220,500; JCW Countryman, Dh225,500
The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.
Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too