Category: Uncategorized

BEL OMBRE, Mauritius (3 December 2019) – The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open identifies itself as ‘The most beautiful week in golf’, and clearly the word is getting around amongst the players on all three of the major tours of the Sunshine Tour, European Tour and Asian Tour that jointly sanction this tournament.

A collection of Ryder Cup players, a major winner and multiple tournament champions have gathered for this week’s fifth anniversary of the tournament, which tees off on Thursday at the Heritage Golf Club. And all are increasingly impressed with an event that has successfully niched itself as one of the most special weeks on the global golf calendar.

“It’s my first visit to Mauritius and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s great to have so many players from the different tours playing. I’m looking forward to mixing with some of the younger players this week and trying to be as competitive as I can,” said 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie.

Belgian Ryder Cup player Thomas Pieters is also making his debut in the tournament. “I’m absolutely loving it here. I arrived five days before the start of the tournament. Come Thursday we’ll all want to do well, and I’m looking forward to it.”

George Coetzee, the winner of the inaugural AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open here at the Heritage Golf Club in 2015, is back for a week that gives him the water-sport distractions he so dearly loves. “This is a very special place for me. It’s just a great golf course. But there is also so much to do away from the golf course, which works for me. The year of my win here I went windsurfing on the Monday and hurt my back. I couldn’t play the pro-am or a practice round so I arrived on the golf course in the first round very relaxed and not knowing what to expect, and I guess that was kind of a winning formula.”

Another Ryder Cup star in Nicolas Colsaerts said the growth of the event is seen in the number of players talking to each other about what a unique week this is.

“I’ve been coming here for 20 years now. It’s always been a popular destination for golfers from Europe in the winter and the list of qualities that this place has is endless, and now it has a major golf tournament as well. The players are talking with one another about how nice it is to come and spend a week in Mauritius playing this tournament. We play a lot of competitive golf throughout the year so to have a week that marries both is great.”

Frenchman Romain Langasque is another big supporter of golf in paradise. “The first time I played here was two years ago and I finished third. The course is unbeatable. It’s one of the best tournaments of the year for me to be able to enjoy the golf course and the beach.”

And Indian star Shubhankar Sharma says the tri-sanctioning status of the event has a big role to play in the growth of golf in his home country. “For any sport to grow in a country it needs stars. Golf in India is growing now because we have stars the kids can look up to. So it’s great that this tournament is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and with so many Indian golfers playing in, and which will be showcased on television in India.”

The corporate supporters of the event are equally attracted to a tournament that offers something different in the tournament golf space.

“This tournament has helped us position the Mauritius brand and sell this destination as a great tourist destination and a great financial services destination,” said Sanjiv Bhasin, CEO of title sponsor AfrAsia Bank.

“We have seen the participants increasing in numbers and the public interest increase significantly. The live broadcast now reaches 350 million households. We have customers living in 163 countries, and this tournament gives them an excellent impression of Mauritius and us as a bank.”

The tri-sanctioned status is a particular source of pride for Selwyn Nathan, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour. “This was the first tournament we tri-sanctioned with the European Tour, the Asian Tour and ourselves. This partnership is very special to us and this tournament has grown immensely over the past five years.”

For Thierry Montocchio, CEO of VLH Ltd., the tournament validates to an international audience the world-class golf offering at Heritage Resort.

“The Heritage Le Telfair has for the past two years won the award for ‘The Indian Ocean’s Best Golf Hotel’, and our golf course has for the sixth consecutive year been voted ‘The Indian Ocean’s Best Golf Course’. Golf is at the heart of our resort, and now we are constructing our second golf course, designed by Peter Matkovich and Louis Oosthuizen. It will be an iconic course that we hope will set a new standard for the region. It will be the first links-style course in Mauritius, and you’ll see the sea from every hole.”

And from Thursday, golf fans worldwide will also be able to see exactly what makes this the most beautiful week in golf.

Photo (From Left to Right): Top-ranked Mauritian amateur Pierre Pellegrin, Shubhankar Sharma, Romain Langasque, George Coetzee, Nicolas Colsaerts and Thomas Pieters at the official press conference for the 2019 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

European Tour champions George Coetzee, Justin Harding and Brandon Stone have added their names to an already strong field for the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at the Heritage Golf Club from 5-8 December.

The trio of South Africans join a field including Major winner Paul Lawrie, Ryder Cup stars Nicolas Colsaerts, Thomas Pieters and Edoardo Molinari, former Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Shubhankar Sharma, and top amateurs Matthias Schmid and Pierre Pellegrin.

Coetzee returns to the Indian Ocean island as a four-time European Tour champion and the winner of the inaugural AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at Heritage Golf Club in 2015. The South African is seeking to win a European Tour event twice for the second time in his career after he won the Tshwane Open in 2015 and 2018. He also recently claimed his 10^th Sunshine Tour title when he won the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final at the beginning of November.

“I feel like I’m in a good space now and playing pretty well. I’m looking forward to the summer season and hopefully my golf will be good. It’s an exciting time for me,” he said.

Harding, currently ranked 23^rd on the Race to Dubai, made his breakthrough on the European Tour this year with his victory in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, which was his fifth victory in 12 months wherein he also won on the Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour and broke into the top 50 on the world ranking for the first time in his career.

And Stone heads to Mauritius as a three-time European Tour champion, including his Rolex Series victory in the 2018 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.

Korean professional Taehee Lee will be amongst those leading the Asian Tour challenge in this tournament as the highest ranked player on the Asian Tour’s Habitat for Humanity Standings in fourth place.

The €1-million tournament is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year as a leading tri-sanctioned tournament between the European Tour, Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour.

Open champion Paul Lawrie has added his name to the field for this year’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at the Heritage Golf Club from 5-8 December, joining a unique set of winners of the Claret Jug who have played in this tournament.

The winner of the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie is the fourth Major winner to play in this tournament following fellow Open champions Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen and Darren Clarke.

The Scottish professional is also part of a growing list of European Ryder Cup players, captains and vice-captains to have featured in this tournament, which is tri-sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour.

Lawrie represented Europe in the 1999 and 2012 Ryder Cups as a player, and then as a vice-captain in the 2016 Ryder Cup. This year Belgium’s Thomas Pieters and Nicolas Colsaerts and Italian Edoardo Molinari join him at the Heritage Golf Club as fellow European Ryder Cup players, while in the past former Ryder Cup captains Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjørn have also played in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

The eight-time European Tour winner heads to Mauritius with his game in good form after winning the Scottish Senior Open this year.

But Lawrie is most remembered for his 1999 Open triumph at Carnoustie, where he staged a remarkable comeback in which he made up 10 shots in the final round to win the Claret Jug.

Lawrie adds significantly to a field that also includes Indian star Shubhankar Sharma and Benjamin Hebert, who is currently the leading player from France on the Race to Dubai in 17^th position.

The field will also include two exciting amateur talents in European Amateur champion Matthias Schmid and Mauritian Pierre Pellegrin.

Schmid makes his debut in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open after becoming, at the age of 21, only the second German golfer to win the European Amateur Championship at the Diamond Country Club in Austria in June and with a course record nine-under-par 63 in the third round.

Pellegrin joins the field thanks to his victory in the Rogers Indian Ocean Amateur Golf Open in October, and which was played at Heritage Golf Club.

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.

A strong contingent of French professionals have confirmed their presence in this year’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open as they edge closer to a first French champion in this tri-sanctioned tournament between the European Tour, Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour.

French golfers have finished third and second in the past two editions of this €1-million tournament, which this year will be played at the Heritage Golf Club at Heritage Resorts from 5-8 December. In 2018, France was second only to South Africa in the number of its golfers who finished within the top 20 in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

The French challenge will be led by Benjamin Hebert, currently the top French golfer on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai ranking in 15^th place and within the top 100 on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Heritage ambassador Romain Langasque, currently 21^st on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings, will also be in the field.

In 2017, when the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open was last played at the Heritage Golf Club, Langasque finished third and only two shots out of the playoff between champion Dylan Frittelli and Arjun Atwal of India. Langasque again came close to securing a maiden European Tour title when he finished third in July’s Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, a tournament that is part of the European Tour’s prestigious Rolex Series.

Matthieu Pavon flew the French flag at Anahita in 2018 when he finished tied second and just two strokes behind eventual winner Kurt Kitayama. Pavon has also shown signs of becoming the next French champion on the European Tour with his finishes of tied 10^th in both the BMW International Open and the Scandinavian Invitation this season.

They will be joined at Heritage Golf Club by Heritage ambassador Clément Sordet, who finished 11^th in last year’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, and who this year had his best European Tour finish of second in the Oman Open in March.

Victor Perez, who finished 14^th in the 2018 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, and Raphaël Jacquelin, who finished tied 17^th last year, add to a very strong French line-up for the fifth edition of this tournament.

“We are extremely proud of our Heritage ambassadors and their performances in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, which is a flagship event for our award-winning resort. We look forward to welcoming them back to our magnificent Heritage Golf Club, which has been recognised as one of the top 10 golf courses in Africa and the ‘Best golf course in the Indian Ocean’ at the World Golf Awards for the past five years,” said Thierry Montocchio, CEO of Veranda Leisure and Hospitality (VLH).

In five years the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open has not only witnessed its own rapid growth as a tri-sanctioned tournament with the European Tour, Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour, but it has also significantly stimulated the golf economy of Mauritius.

From 5-8 December, the Heritage Golf Club at Heritage Resorts will host the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open for the third time in the last five years. The tournament teed off here in 2015 as a unique coalition between three of the largest professional tours in world golf – the European Tour, Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour. It has attracted Major winners, former world number ones, Ryder Cup captains and a myriad of other leading international golfers. But perhaps the biggest impact has been on the golf economy of Mauritius.

“Immediately after the first tournament we saw an increase of 6 000 rounds in one year at Heritage Golf Club. Growth like that is really unheard of, especially considering that the course has been open since 2004,” says Jonathan Menteath, the General Manager of Heritage Golf Club.

The global television broadcast of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, which reaches close to 400 million homes worldwide, has also significantly boosted Mauritius as a leading golf tourism destination.

“Golf in Mauritius has grown from 170 000 rounds in 2011 up to 240 000 rounds in 2018, and I believe that the global exposure that the tournament gives Mauritius has played a big role in establishing Mauritius as a must-visit golf destination,” says Menteath.

He is expecting this to increase with the completion of Heritage Resorts’ second championship golf course, a design collaboration between renowned golf course architect Peter Matkovich and 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.

“The project has been launched in July 2019 and the course is scheduled to open in September 2021. The design and layout of facilities has been finalised with Peter Matkovich, Louis Oosthuizen and the buildings architects. We are working hard to open what will possibly be the best golfing facility in the Indian Ocean,” says Menteath.

“It will add immeasurably to the popularity of the Domaine de Bel Ombre and Heritage Resorts. Having two championship golf courses on our doorstep is going to take the resort to another level in that golfers really won’t need to look much further when deciding on what destination and resort to visit on their golf holiday. The design of the second course is so unique and so exciting. It starts at the top of our property and cascades down to the bottom of the property one hole at a time. The views are breathtaking. I think our second course is going to be a popular playing experience to say the least.”

In a bid to further stimulate golf tourism to Mauritius, Heritage Resorts also offers its guests a Golf Bliss Package that allows them premier access at discounted rates to all the golf courses on the South West of the island at the resorts of Heritage, Paradis, Tamarina and Avalon.

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open celebrates its fifth anniversary this year, and some of the world’s leading professionals are set to return to one of the most spectacular destinations on the Race to Dubai when they battle it out at Heritage Golf Club.

Multiple European Tour winner Marcel Siem of Germany attended the official launch of the 2019 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open on August 1 to take in the beauty of Mauritius during a two-week break in the European Tour schedule and following the busy summer period.

Another strong field will gather at the Heritage Le Telfair Golf and Spa Resort on Domaine De Bel Ombre from 5-8 December for a tri-sanctioned tournament – alongside the Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour – which is driving the growth of Mauritius as an increasingly popular destination for the world’s leading professionals.

Last year, four-time Major winner Ernie Els made his debut in the tournament, joining 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 as well as multiple Sunshine Tour, European Tour and Asian Tour winners.

This September, Heritage Golf Club will break ground on the construction of its second championship course – a design collaboration between Peter Matkovich and Louis Oosthuizen – that will further enhance the island’s status as a growing powerhouse in world golf travel.

“The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open has over the last five years captured the attention of leading golfers,” said Sanjiv Bhasin, Chief Executive Officer of AfrAsia Bank. “This is a source of encouragement and demonstrates that we are on track to make this event better every successive year. We are privileged to be the lead sponsor for the event as it enables us to present Mauritius as a formidable destination for tourism, real estate and financial services, all three of which are the key pillars of economic growth for this island nation. With this association our brand is on display on a global platform within our customer segment and in over 160 countries, strengthening our global reach.”

The scheduling of the tournament as the final event of the year on the Sunshine Tour – the next event after the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player and the Alfred Dunhill Championship – and the second tournament on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai for the 2020 season, has also made it a highly attractive way for the professionals to end their year, with golf in paradise.

“It has been remarkable to witness the growth of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, which has provided the perfect platform to showcase Mauritius and our award-winning resorts in Domaine De Bel Ombre to the rest of the world. The positive feedback from the players is that this is indeed golf in paradise,” said Francois Eynaud, CEO of Veranda Leisure and Hospitality (VLH).

“We are excited to be starting with the construction of our second championship golf course at the Heritage Golf Club this September and it will add significantly to a hospitality and golf offering which we believe rivals the best in the world.”

It took American Kurt Kitayama only three tournaments as a European Tour member to turn his rookie season into a winning one as he claimed the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open by two shots at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita on Sunday.

The man with a smile as bright as a Mauritius sunrise closed with a 68 to win this tri-sanctioned tournament between the European Tour, Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour on 20-under-par.

Frenchman Matthieu Pavon and India’s Chikkarangappa S. shared second place on 18 under par, while South African Justin Harding finished fourth on 17 under.

Kitayama started the final round tied for the lead with Harding. But as Harding struggled to make anything happen on the final day and eventually signed for a 71, Kitayama made two birdies and an eagle in his first five holes for exactly the fast start he needed to set him up for the victory.

“I’m just so proud and really happy. It’s an unbelievable moment for me. I’m just so happy I was able to pull it off,” said Kitayama.

“There were definitely some nerves around the first tee shot and that early stretch of going birdie-eagle-birdie helped to calm things down for the rest of the day.”

Harding made a positive start himself with two birdies in his opening four holes. But he couldn’t recover from back-to-back bogeys at holes six and seven.

“It was my own doing really. But all credit to Kurt. He was really solid out there,” Harding said.

Pavon surged through the field with a 67 that included a run of five birdies in his opening seven holes, and Chikkarangappa S. also signed for a 67 to climb the leaderboard on the final day. Defending champion Dylan Frittelli made a significant move with his 65 to finish on 16 under.

But there was a definite sense that with his quick start, Kitayama had broken the back of any challenge coming his way.

“I was aware a little bit of what was going on and I kept one eye on the scoreboard. I just tried to stay calm and take it one shot at a time,” he said.

After playing for most of the year on the Asian Tour, Kitayama earned his European Tour card by finishing third at the Final Stage of Qualifying School recently. And he’ll take this form to South Africa where he will see out the year playing the South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg and then the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek.

“This whole year has been, well, what a great year. I still have two more events, but to win on one of the last events of the year is just great,” he said.

Photo Credit: Warren Little/Getty.

The large group of young Mauritian golfers who attended a clinic with the professionals competing in the 2018 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open showcased again the phenomenal growth of this tournament and the role it is playing in the development of the game on the Indian Ocean island.

The young golfers from the Mauritius Golf Federation (MGF) joined a selection of professionals from the Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour and European Tour – who tri-sanction this event – on the practice range at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita on Saturday.

“The interest in golf amongst the young people on the island is really building up,” says Christophe Curé, President of the MGF.

“We have a Golf for All project that we run on the island and it’s helped the sport to really grow here, which has been the goal of the MGF. We are focused on growing the game amongst juniors.”

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open has fulfilled a key aspirational role in this growth as more and more young Mauritians are introduced to a game showcasing talented young athletes from around the world enjoying careers as professionals.

And it’s also given them a glimpse of what is possible, with some of the biggest names in golf having played in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open over the past four years, including Major winners Ernie Els, Darren Clarke and Louis Oosthuizen, 2018 European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjørn, and a myriad of former Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players as well as multiple Sunshine Tour, European Tour and Asian Tour winners.

“The tournament is really becoming quite popular on the island and drawing more and more Mauritians to come and watch,” says Curé, who identifies young amateur Pierre Pellegrin as an example of how it’s helping to develop the local game.

Pellegrin played in the tournament for the first time this year as the country’s top amateur golfer. Like most young Mauritians his sport of choice used to be football and he went for trials in France. But an injury made him turn to golf, and he hasn’t looked back. Although he missed the cut in this year’s AfrAsian Bank Mauritius Open, he remains an inspiration for the many young golfers who attended the clinic.

“Pierre only started playing golf about four or five years ago after his football injury, so he has progressed really quickly. This was his first time playing in a professional tournament so I think he was a bit nervous. But the experience will be good for him and will help him grow his game in years to come,” says Curé.

And that’s exactly what the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open hopes to do going forward as it grows not only what the sponsors refer to as “Brand Mauritius”, but also exposes young Mauritians to a brand new sport and a world of possibilities.

Photo Caption: Sunshine Tour professional Jaco van Zyl helps a young Mauritian golfer with his stance during a golf clinic at the 2018 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. Credit: Christopher Morley-Pegge.02