Author: Neil Whitehorn

Finland’s Sami Välimäki produced a masterful putting display on his way to a bogey-free course-record 10-under-par 62 and a two-stroke lead in Thursday’s first round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at Mont Choisy Le Golf.

 

On a day of intermittent rain but not much wind, Välimäki bettered the previous course record of 64 set by South Africa’s Jayden Schaper. South Africa’s Oliver Bekker is his nearest challenger following an equally impressive round of eight-under-par 64, while Frenchman Pierre Pineau had set the morning target with his seven-under-par 65.

 

“It was a really nice round. I putted very well and made long putts which I haven’t made in the last few weeks. It was nice to get it rolling like I did today,” said Välimäki, who finished second in the recent Joburg Open.

 

Välimäki and Bekker played together and it was an exhibition of great golf between the two professionals.

 

“Oliver played great as well so we kept making putts and enjoying the day. I feel like I found a rhythm and speed for these greens and that was the key for the day. The heat wasn’t bad today as well because of the rain. I’ll just keep grinding and hitting good shots to give myself opportunities.”

 

Bekker was certainly impressed by what he saw in his playing partner’s game.

 

“It was unbelievable golf. I think we certainly pulled each other along. It was good fun out there. We were quite relaxed even during the rain. Sami is obviously playing some great golf and hopefully in the second round we can keep pushing each other.”

 

Bekker has always enjoyed Mauritius and this tournament. “I generally play well here. I’ve played every AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open and I’ve had several top-10 finishes. I feel comfortable playing here and it showed again today.”

 

European Ryder Cup hopeful Thomas Detry made a solid start with his opening four-under-par 68. The local Mauritian challenge is also looking good after an opening 72 from Vishnoo Seeneevassen.

 

The 2022 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open has also drawn a glittering array of blue-chip sponsors including Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels, Mont Choisy Group, Jaguar, Rogers, Heritage Resorts, IBL, the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), 3G Mobile, Phoenix Beverages, Air Mauritius, Mautourco, Fenix XCell Apparel, Hertz, Jacobs, C-Care, Emtel, PRO CARTS, IT Solvz, Häagen-Dazs and Dragon Electronics.

 

Scores:

62 – Sami Valimaki

64 – Oliver Bekker

65 – Pierre Pineau

66 – JC Ritchie

67 – Niklas Lemke, Christoffer Bring, Jeong Weon Ko

68 – Alejandro Del Rey, Jayden Schaper, Dan Erickson, Thomas Detry, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, Bradley Bawden

69 – Ockie Strydom, Albert Venter, Jens Fahrbring, Casey Jarvis, Lyle Rowe, Martin Rohwer, Matthew Southgate, Ryan Van Velzen, Ricardo Gouveia, Dylan Mostert, Julien Brun, Julien Guerrier

70 – John Murphy, Heinrich Bruiners, Tom McKibbin, Craig Howie, Santiago Tarrio, Laurie Canter, Antoine Rozner, Ugo Coussaud, Todd Clements, David Ravetto, Stephen Ferreira, Thomas Bjorn, Alexander Knappe

71 – Manuel Elvira, Gary Stal, Simon Forsstrom, Dean Burmester, Ian Snyman, Thomas Aiken, Pedro Figueiredo, Jeremy Freiburghaus, Jacques P de Villiers, Richard Sterne, Louis de Jager, Divan van den Heever, Brandon Stone, Alejandro Canizares, Jens Dantorp, Ruan Korb

72 – Gary Hurley, Sam Hutsby, Neil Schietekat, Peter Karmis, Luke Brown, Bryce Easton, Andre De Decker, Michael Kok, Martin Vorster, Vishnoo Seenevassen, Mikael Lindberg, Kyle Barker, Keagan Thomas, Keenan Davidse, Oihan Guillamoundeguy, Makhetha Mazibuko, Anton Karlsson, Grant Forrest, Joshua Lee, Deon Germishuys, Jaco Van Zyl, Jordan Duminy, Niklas Norgaard Moller, Nikhil Rama

73 – Hennie Otto, Renato Paratore, Rupert Kaminski, Kyle McClatchie, Joel Stalter, Matthieu Pavon, Marcel Siem, Henric Sturehed, Adilson Da Silva, Luca Filippi, Keith Horne, Sean Bradley, Luke Harries, OJ Farrell, Lucas Bjerregaard, Christiaan Burke, Harry Konig, Nicolas Colsaerts, Matias Calderon, Marco Penge, Filippo Celli, Jordan Gumberg

74 – Malcolm Mitchell, Jean-Paul Strydom, Aldrich Potgieter, Pieter Moolman, Danie Van Niekerk, Graeme Storm, Quintin Wilsnach, Luke Jerling, Dylan Naidoo, Wynand Dingle, Herman Loubser, Ross Mcgowan, Yan Wei Liu, Jaco Prinsloo, Javier Sainz, Rhys West

75 – Anthony Michael, Louis Albertse, Jake Redman, Nathan Kimsey, Tristen Strydom, Pavan Sagoo, Angel Hidalgo, Rhys Enoch, Toto Thimba Jnr, Ashley Chesters, Pierre Pellegrin

76 – Mateusz Gradecki, Gerard du Plooy, Jbe’ Kruger, Stefan Wears-Taylor, John Axelsen, Philip Eriksson, Ricardo Santos, Merrick Bremner, Velten Meyer, Estiaan Conradie, Michael Palmer, Keelan van Wyk

77 – Hugo Esposito, Ryo Hisatsune, Kristoffer Reitan, Steve Surry, James Hart du Preez, Adam Breen

78 – Gudmundur Kristjansson, CJ du Plessis, JJ Senekal, Henry Sheridan-Mills

79 – Ruan Conradie, Freddy Schott, Brooklin Bailey, Elias Bertheussen

80 – Emilio Cuartero Blanco, Benjamin Rusch, MJ Viljoen

MONT CHOISY LE GOLF, Mauritius – Ockie Strydom arrived in the paradise of Mauritius for this week’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open still feeling as though he’s living a dream following his maiden DP World Tour victory last week. And his best congratulatory message came in the form of a prescription from his pharmacist.

 

“He sent me a prescription saying, ‘Take Johnnie Walker every six hours daily. Repeat for a week’. I just laughed,” said Strydom, who had a life-changing win in last week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship and is hoping to continue that form in this week’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

 

“Yesterday we were sitting on the beach here in Mauritius and I put my feet up against a palm tree, and I think it finally did sink in then. It’s still feels like a dream for me. But this is a new week and a new opportunity,” he said.

 

The Mont Choisy Le Golf course is hosting its first major professional tournament this week, and the Peter Matkovich-designed layout was already showing its character in Wednesday’s windy pro-am.

 

“It’s my first time seeing this course, but it will be a challenge in the wind. It is wide though, so the opportunities will be there,” said Strydom.

 

Former Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjørn has played enough golf in Mauritius, including a win in a Legends Tour event here last week, to know the kind of different challenge that this course will present.

“This is a different layout for Mauritius. It’s open and quite generous off the tee but with very tricky greens. It’s all about positioning yourself on the greens. When you first see the course you think this isn’t too difficult, but with the wind and the way these greens are it’s going to pose a lot of challenges,” he said.

 

South Africa’s Dean Burmester is perhaps best placed to provide insight into this layout as it’s his home course.

 

“I haven’t seen the golf course look as tournament ready as it does now. It’s great. The wind is up which it always is around this time of the year, and it’s playing tricky. It’s as close as you’ll get to an inland links. It’s open and with nothing to stop the wind, but with very slopey greens. I think it’s just really ready to host this tournament,” he said.

 

In what is very much an island style to the golf, and in keeping with “The Most Beautiful Week in Golf” theme of this event, the players have been granted permission to wear shorts during the tournament.

 

It all fits in very well with what is a unique week in golf, and a far more relaxed one at the end of a long year on the fairways.

 

“It’s amazing to be here. Just to breathe and relax and spend some time on the beach with the kids and watch them build sandcastles, and then play golf on my home course is wonderful,” said Burmester.

 

“This afternoon we might spend time swimming with the turtles and declutter the mind after a long year.”

 

The 2022 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open has also drawn a glittering array of blue-chip sponsors including Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels, Mont Choisy Group, Jaguar, Rogers, Heritage Resorts, IBL, the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), 3G Mobile, Phoenix Beverages, Air Mauritius, Mautourco, Fenix XCell Apparel, Hertz, Jacobs, C-Care, Emtel, PRO CARTS, IT Solvz, Häagen-Dazs and Dragon Electronics.

A field containing two current European Ryder Cup vice-captains, a former European Ryder Cup captain, multiple Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour winners, and a collection of professional golf’s exciting young stars is what a ticket to this year’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open will unlock for golf fans.

 

Ticket sales are in the final push with just over a week to go until the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned showpiece tees off at Mont Choisy Le Golf from 15-18 December.

 

Nicolas Colsaerts and Thomas Bjørn will bring the Ryder Cup flavour to this year’s tournament as two of the vice-captains for the European team ahead of the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy. Bjørn adds to the Ryder Cup influence in the field as the victorious European captain at the 2018 Ryder Cup and a three-time Ryder Cup competitor before this.

 

The field also contains rookie PGA Tour campaigners Thomas Detry and Dean Burmester, DP World Tour champions Brandon Stone and Antoine Rozner, Challenge Tour champions JC Ritchie and Nathan Kimsey, and a number of professionals such as Deon Gemishuys and Bryce Easton who have recently secured their DP World Tour cards and will be using this event to make a fast start to the new season.

 

The next generation of talent will also be on display in Casey Jarvis, Filippo Celli, Jayden Schaper, Tom McKibbin, Wilco Nienaber, and 2022 Amateur champion Aldrich Potgieter.

 

Further ticket details can be found here https://afrasiabankmauritiusopen.com/tournament/ and tickets to this DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour co-sanctioned tournament can be purchased at https://www.marideal.mu/afrasia-bank-mauritius-open-tournament.html.

 

The 2022 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open returns to the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour schedules for the first time since 2019 following the Covid-19 pandemic and has drawn a glittering array of blue-chip sponsors including Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels, Mont Choisy Group, Jaguar, Rogers, Heritage Resorts, IBL, the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), 3G Mobile, Phoenix Beverages, Air Mauritius, Mautourco, Fenix XCell Apparel, Hertz, Jacobs, C-Care, Emtel, PRO CARTS, IT Solvz, Häagen-Dazs and Dragon Electronics.

Dean Burmester, South Africa’s latest PGA TOUR member, has confirmed his place in the 2022 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at Mont Choisy Le Golf from 15-18 December which is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour.

 

Burmester, an ambassador for Mont Choisy Le Golf as well as tournament sponsor Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels, returns to Mauritius as a newly minted PGA TOUR member after securing his status for next season through the Korn Ferry Tour. He also achieved another notable first of his best finish in a Major when he ended tied 11^th in the 150^th Open Championship in St Andrews this July.

 

The two-time DP World Tour champion and eight-time Sunshine Tour winner is looking forward to improving on his top finish of tied 20^th in the 2015 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open as he plays a tournament that is close to his heart.

 

“I have a proud association with Mauritius through Mont Choisy Le Golf and Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels. Mauritius, and the Trou aux Biches Beachcomber, has always been a destination that I love going to, especially with my family. The fact that this year’s tournament will be played at Mont Choisy Le Golf for the first time made it an even easier decision for me to end what has been a memorable year on the beautiful island of Mauritius,” said Burmester.

 

“I love what Peter Matkovich has done with his design of Mont Choisy Le Golf and I can’t wait to see how the course plays under championship conditions.”

 

From his first Sunshine Tour victory in the 2013 Polokwane Classic, Burmester has been a consistent winner on his home Tour. He was able to translate this into his breakthrough on the DP World Tour when he won the 2017 Tshwane Open. The 33-year-old South African added a second DP World Tour title in the 2021 Tenerife Open and has climbed as high as 64^th on the Official World Golf Ranking.

 

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open returns to the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour schedules for the first time since 2019 following the Covid-19 pandemic and has drawn a glittering array of blue-chip sponsors including Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels, Mont Choisy Le Golf, the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), Jaguar, Rogers, Heritage Resorts, IBL, 3G Mobile, Phoenix Beverages, Air Mauritius, Emtel, Mautourco and Hertz.

 

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open will return to the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour schedules for the first time since 2019 at a celebrated new world-class host venue this December.

 

The sixth edition of this Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournament will break new ground when it travels to the northern region of the island for the first time and to the championship golf course of Mont Choisy Le Golf from 15-18 December 2022.

 

Mauritius will also be the grand finale of a strong conclusion to 2022 for the Sunshine Tour. The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open will be played at the end of a four-week run of premier Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned events that begins in Johannesburg and ends on the island, featuring a selection of the finest professionals from both tours.

 

“We are delighted to make our return to the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour, and more importantly to be the catalyst for bringing the largest sporting event of the region to Mauritius for the first time since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is an important contributor to the Mauritian economy with a spillover effect to key sectors such as the tourism and financial services to name a few. This tournament, broadcast worldwide, always draws a strong field and plenty of international interest and remains a source of great national pride,” said Thierry Vallet, Founder Executive and Interim CEO of AfrAsia Bank.

 

The 2022 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open has once again drawn a glittering array of blue-chip sponsors, including Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels which is a premier accommodation partner to the tournament through its eight resorts in Mauritius.

 

“The Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels Group is firmly entrenched in the history of Mauritius, and we are proud to partner with the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open and help to stimulate the Mauritius tourism industry as we have done since 1962. As the leading hotel group in Mauritius, we are ready to open the doors of our award-winning resorts to the field of international golfers as well as the spectators traveling from abroad to spend this memorable week with us,” said Gilbert Espitalier-Noel, CEO of Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels Group.

 

Mont Choisy Le Golf will make its debut as the host of this year’s tournament, which travels to the magnificent Grand Baie region for the first time.

 

“It is a privilege for Mont Choisy Le Golf to host the 2022 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open and make our own bit of history in this event. As the only 18-hole championship golf course in the North, we look forward to welcoming the international field to our Peter Matkovich-designed golf course and trust they will enjoy the golf course as well as their week spent in the most prestigious address in Grand Baie at the Mont Choisy Golf and Beach Estate,” said Jyoti Jeetun, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Mont Choisy Group.

 

With a global television broadcast to almost 400 million homes, the 2022 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open will play a key role in reigniting the local tourism industry following the disruption caused by the global pandemic.

 

“I am delighted to see the return of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. Mauritius has a strong golf tradition stretching back over 150 years, and the nation is home to some of the best golf courses in the world. We will once more welcome some of the best players in the game to compete at this prestigious event, as well as golf fans who will be there to cheer them on,” said Arvind Bundhun, Director of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA).

 

Both the DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour welcomed the return of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open to their schedules as part of the Strategic Alliance between the two Tours announced last year which builds on a relationship which dates more than quarter of a century. The return of the two Tours to Mauritius is the continuation of a history of professional golf excellence that has seen four-time Major winner Ernie Els, 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen, 2011 Open Champion and 2016 European Ryder Cup Captain Darren Clarke, 2018 European Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Björn, and a host of former Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players compete in this event in the past.

 

Ben Cowen, Chief Tournament Business Officer of the DP World Tour, said: “We are extremely pleased for the beautiful island of Mauritius and for our partners at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open to be able to announce the return of this unique event to our DP World Tour international schedule as part of our Strategic Alliance with the Sunshine Tour. It has been a popular event with our members ever since the tournament launched in 2015, and following the challenges of Covid-19, we are looking forward to celebrating its resumption at a new venue in Mont Choisy as part of our 2023 schedule.”

 

Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, said: “It’s been a challenging time for the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, as it has for all of us in world golf. The return of this magical tournament is a true sign that we are back to normal in the world of professional golf and we cannot wait to celebrate this with all of our partners in this event.”

 

BEL OMBRE, Mauritius (6 December 2019) – The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open celebrated its fifth anniversary as a uniquely tri-sanctioned tournament with a Three Tour Challenge between golfers from the European Tour, Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour at the Heritage Golf Club before the start of this year’s tournament.

Germany’s Marcel Siem represented the European Tour against South Africa’s Toto Thimba from the Sunshine Tour and India’s Shubhankar Sharma from the Asian Tour. The three golfers were tasked with the challenge of nominating a club and then attempting to chip from about 30 yards away and to a target area around the hole. Appropriately for a tournament played in an island paradise, the chipping area was identified by two coconuts as “tee markers”.

But the challenge was that once a club had been nominated, they were not allowed to use that club again. “You use it, you lose it,” was how Siem summed up the rules of play for his opponents. A ball that stopped in the target areas was worth one point, and a holed-out shot worth 10.

Round One ended without a single point scored by any of the players, with the sloping green and tricky pin placement proving quite a challenge in terms of stopping the ball in the target area around the hole.

But in Round Two, Sharma made the breakthrough when he scored a point using a pitching wedge. It proved decisive as no player was able to match that through the remaining two rounds, although Siem came inches close to an equaliser with a five iron in the fourth and final round.

“It was a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate having the three tours here,” said Siem.

Nicolas Colsaerts and Thomas Pieters, two golfers who both made Ryder Cup history, are the latest to confirm their participation in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at the Heritage Golf Club from 5-8 December.

Colsaerts, an ambassador with the Anahita Golf and Spa Resort which shares the hosting of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open with Heritage Golf Club every alternate year, is the most recent European Tour winner to sign up for this €1 million tri-sanctioned tournament between the European Tour, Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour.

The big-hitting Belgian ended a seven-year title drought when he won the Amundi Open de France in October for his third European Tour title.

Colsaerts’ victory in France was a welcome return to the form he displayed when he became the first Belgian golfer in history to play in The Ryder Cup in 2012. He was instrumental in the European team’s 14½ – 13½ victory over the United States that year and in what has been dubbed “The Miracle at Medinah”.

Pieters made an equally historic Ryder Cup debut as a member of the European team for the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine. Despite being beaten 17-11 by the United States, Pieters announced himself as a new star on one of the biggest stages in golf when he became the first European rookie to win four points on his Ryder Cup debut. He has also been in winning form this year, securing his fourth European Tour title at the D+D Real Czech Masters in August.

The Belgian duo join a field that already includes Indian star Shubhankar Sharma, Benjamin Hebert, who is currently the leading player from France on the Race to Dubai in 17^th position, and European Amateur champion Matthias Schmid. Schmid will make his debut in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open as one of the most exciting young talents in world golf. The 21-year-old became only the second German golfer to win the European Amateur Championship at the Diamond Country Club in Austria in June. His three-stroke victory – including a course record nine-under-par 63 in the third round – saw him join a list of golf’s biggest names to have won this title, including Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia.

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open celebrates its fifth anniversary this year as a unique coalition between three of the largest professional tours in world golf, and with a global television broadcast that reaches 400 million homes worldwide.

India’s Shubhankar Sharma has confirmed his participation in the upcoming AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at the Heritage Golf Club from 5-8 December 2019, and at a time when Indian golfers are moving closer to a maiden victory in this tri-sanctioned tournament between the European Tour, Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour.

Sharma has led a resurgence in Indian golf over the past two years. He won two European Tour titles in the space of three months, including becoming at the age of 21 the youngest Indian to win on the European Tour with his Joburg Open triumph in December 2017.

In 2018 he became only the fourth Indian golfer to ever play in The Masters, and his rise on the world stage saw him also named the European Tour’s 2018 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year and crowned the 2018 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion.

Sharma’s meteoric career path has been matched by strong performances from his countrymen in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in the last two years.

In the 2017 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at Heritage Golf Club, the experienced Arjun Atwal lost in a playoff to Dylan Frittelli. A year later, Chikkarangappa S. finished second to American Kurt Kitayama, and said Sharma had definitely inspired this new generation of Indian golfers.

“Shubhankar has really shown the way for a lot of Indian youngsters. As Indian golfers we’re now out in the world and playing with the best. Jeev Milkha Singh told us there were only four or five Indian golfers on tour during his time. Now we have closer to 25, and about 15 of us holding a full card on the Asian Tour and a couple on the European Tour,” he said.