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It may be December, but Justin Harding isn’t done yet.

The South African’s dream year is showing no sign of ending as he heads into Sunday’s final round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open tied for the lead with American Kurt Kitayama, and chasing a fifth title this season at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita.

Harding signed for a bogey-free 64 on Saturday to top the leaderboard on 16 under par, and where he was joined by Kitayama after his 70. They are three strokes clear of their nearest challengers in Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura, Frenchman Matthieu Pavon and India’s Chikkarangappa S.

“I did my job. I put myself in a decent position to get the result on Sunday,” said Harding, who showed exactly the kind of mood he was in when he opened with five birdies in his first eight holes.

“I’m thrilled. That was without a doubt my best tournament round. I really felt I played pretty good today. I had good control, especially for the first 13 holes. I felt like I could birdie every hole out there. I hit some close and felt like I could be a little more aggressive with the flags today. And then when it came to the putting I just felt like I had a good line on everything. It was a good day and I enjoyed it.

Harding is in the midst of the season of his life having already won four times, including twice on the Sunshine Tour and twice on the Asian Tour. He currently leads the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit and is third on the Asian Tour equivalent, the Habitat for Humanity Standings. Shubhankar Sharma, the man leading the Asian Tour standings, is not playing this week or in next week’s South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg, giving Harding a perfect opportunity to overtake the Indian star, starting with a win this weekend.

“Hopefully I can put a good round together on Sunday and then see what happens,” he said. “I enjoy leading. I like the guys coming to me rather than having to chase. I’m looking forward to it.”

Kitayama, who led by two strokes going into the third round, admitted he felt some of the pressure of being in a final group on the Saturday.

“Today played a little tougher. Being in the last group added a little more pressure. I grinded it out. I just didn’t hit it as well as I did on the first two days.”

Harding, though, feels he’s in a good space mentally for the challenge to come.

“It’s going to be a beautiful day on the golf course, playing golf on an island, what more can you want?”

Photo Credit: Thinus Maritz/Sunshine Tour.

American Kurt Kitayama heads into the weekend of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open with a two-stroke lead and looking to make the perfect start to his rookie season on the European Tour.

Kitayama signed for a second consecutive 65 at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita on Friday to head the field on 14 under par.

India’s Chikkarangappa S. is his nearest challenger on 12 under par following a 68, with Frenchman Victor Perez and Matthieu Pavon on 11 under. Trevor Fisher Jnr. leads the South African challenge at five shots off the lead. Ernie Els and defending champion Dylan Frittelli head into the weekend on five under par.

Kitayama travelled to Mauritius with no clear plan of where his career is going and to simply play the next three tournaments in front of him as a new member of the European Tour following his tied third-place finish at the Tour’s Final Stage of Qualifying School.

“You know, I’m just focusing on this little stretch to end 2018 and then I’ll regroup at the end of the year and see what I’m thinking about for the future. It’s just about trusting the process,” he said.

He did indeed have to trust the process out on the Anahita course as he started his second round with a birdie but then made a double bogey at the second. After that he made four consecutive birdies, and finished his round with a further four birdies in six holes.

“I started with a birdie and then just had a little blunder at two. I got back on track straight after though so it was nice to bounce back. I’m driving it well, which is making it a lot easier out there. It’s a pretty big advantage to be able to hit shorter irons in. I’ll have the same approach over the weekend. It’s gone well so far so I don’t want to switch things up too much.”

Chikkarangappa S. moved himself into contention with a round that saw him make five consecutive birdies at the start of his second nine. And an Indian flag will fly near the top of a leaderboard once again this season.

“Shubhankar Sharma has really shown the way for a lot of Indian youngsters this year. As Indian golfers we’re now out in the world and playing with the best. Jeev Milkha Singh was telling 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.

South Africa’s Fisher Jnr. worked his way into contention on nine under par and with a bogey-free 66.

“I feel good. I’ve shown signs of improving but it’s been up and down the last six months. One or two good rounds, and one or two bad rounds. This week I’ve been trying to think more about the mental side, be a bit more confident and easier on myself out there.

“I’ll keep doing what I’m doing. I’ll just trust the positives, try to play my own game, stay in my zone and give myself a chance out there,” he said.

Photo Credit: Warren Little/Getty Images.

A bit of sun, sea and sand is said to cure all manner of ills, and it certainly seems to be working for Jaco van Zyl as he opened with a seven-under-par 65 to be only one stroke off the lead after Thursday’s first round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita.

The South African’s start in this tri-sanctioned tournament is his best since his return from a wrist injury and he led for most of the round before Frenchman Victor Perez and India’s S Chikkarangappa overtook him with their rounds of 64 in the afternoon.

Van Zyl finished the day in a three-way tie for second place with Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura and American Kurt Kitayama.

Behind them, South Africa’s Justin Harding kept up his challenge to win both the Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour Order of Merits as he chipped in on the 18th for an eagle and a round of five-under-par 67. He currently leads the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit and is third on the Asian Tour’s Habitat for Humanity money list, but with an outside chance of winning that if he has three strong weeks, starting in Mauritius.

Harding’s playing partner Ernie Els played his way to a steady three-under-par 69 on Thursday.

On a sweltering day on the island, Van Zyl took advantage of a cooler early tee-off time and opened with a birdie, finished with an eagle, and made a further four birdies and no bogeys in between.

“The early tee time was good. The course is in absolutely fantastic condition considering the amount of rain they had on Monday and Tuesday. And it’s the first round of a new season, so it’s really nice to get off to a good solid start,” he said.

“After coming back from my injury, I think I’ve played six events in Europe in the latter part of the year. It feels like I’m still getting back into it, and shooting seven under in the first round is a really good feeling. The short game has been really good. Normally I’m a very consistent ball striker, and I’ve been battling with that a little bit over the last six weeks. But that’s starting to come on nicely and I’m getting the distance back. I’m still hitting it fairly straight but the big difference is definitely the chipping and putting. I’m making a lot more putts than I have been.”

Photo Credit: Thinus Maritz/Sunshine Tour.

Ernie Els is hoping the local knowledge he has of an Anahita golf course that he designed gives him an edge over the rest of the field when he makes his debut in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open on Thursday.

The four-time Major winner and former world number one said his decision to play in the tournament was sparked by the 10th anniversary of the opening of the course he designed at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita.

“It’s really exciting to be back, and I absolutely hope knowing the golf course gives me an advantage,” Els said on the eve of the first round of this tri-sanctioned tournament between the Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour and European Tour.

“I haven’t been back here since we opened the course. It’s so nice to have a tournament of this stature played on our golf course. It’s amazing though, we designed the golf course 10 years ago and this was during one of my phases where I liked small greens and run-off areas. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite me this week.”

Els played 18 holes in practice on Wednesday and said he liked what he saw in terms of the golf course’s condition following a deluge of rain falling overnight. “It’s in good shape and I think the guys can score. There’s room off the tee here. We have wider fairways but most of the holes were built thinking about the winds off the ocean. The greens are pretty small and they are quite undulating so that is where your challenge will be this week.”

Els is also hoping the relaxed nature of this tournament counts in his favour this week, especially after his finish of tied third in another island event, the Fiji International, on the Asian Tour this year.

“When it comes to island courses it’s the relaxation I like. When I played in Fiji I had my wife and my daughter with me, and my wife is here this week. We’re also close to South Africa so I feel like I’m really heading home from here.”

The field this week includes every champion since the tournament became tri-sanctioned, including George Coetzee (2015), Jeunghun Wang (2016) and Dylan Frittelli (2017).

Photo Credit: Clémence Rogers.

Justin Harding will make a strong push to become the first South African golfer to ever win the Asian Tour’s Habitat for Humanity Standings, starting with this week’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita.

Harding is currently third on the Asian Tour money list following a breakthrough season here in which he has won twice. The South African has been in incredible form in 2018, also winning twice on the Sunshine Tour and currently leading the Order of Merit here.

The previous highest finish on the Asian Tour money list since 2004 by any South African was Anton Haig who finished third on the money list in 2007.

Harding will be the highest ranked player on the Asian Tour money list at this week’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, which is tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Sunshine Tour and European Tour.

Harding has already made Asian Tour history this season by becoming the first player to win twice in his first two starts on the Tour when he won the Bank BRI Indonesian Open and then the Royal Cup. And with three tournaments left on the Asian Tour’s season, Harding still has a realistic chance of finishing top of the Tour’s money list.

The Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma currently leads the way on the Habitat for Humanity Standings with earnings of US$ 755 994. Harding is US$ 331 817 behind Sharma in third place.

But Sharma will not be playing in this week’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open or the following week’s South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg, which is also tri-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour and European Tour.

If Harding wins in Mauritius and Johannesburg, he will take over the top spot on the standings from Sharma. And it’s not unlikely, given that the South African has already achieved back-to-back wins twice in 2018 on the Sunshine Tour and the Asian Tour.

“The players on the Sunshine Tour will be gunning for my number one spot on the Order of Merit and it’s very important that I play well here. It’s an added bonus that the event is also sanctioned by the Asian Tour so I’ll also improve my position on the Habitat for Humanity Standings if I do well,” Harding said ahead of Thursday’s first round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

“Anahita is very wind dependent. The last time I played there, the winds were blowing at 65km/h and I was nearly blown off the golf course. It’s a long golf course and if the wind picks up, it will be very challenging.”

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is set to welcome the strongest field in its tri-sanctioned history when the tournament is played at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita from 29 November to 2 December.

Ernie Els will make his debut in the tournament, with the four-time Major winner, World Golf Hall of Fame member and former world number one headlining this year’s field.

Dylan Frittelli, who has secured his playing privileges on the PGA Tour in 2019, will defend his title in a field including another former champion in George Coetzee, who won the inaugural tournament in 2015.

Justin Harding, the South African who has won twice on the Asian Tour this year and twice on the Sunshine Tour, will be looking for his first European Tour title in Mauritius.

Nicolas Colsaerts, Belgium’s former Ryder Cup player and a two-time European Tour winner, four-time European Tour champion Bernd Wiesberger from Austria, and multiple European Tour champions Matteo Manassero from Italy, Gregory Bourdy and Gregory Havret from France, and Germany’s Marcel Siem are also in this year’s field.

Rising French star Romain Langasque is back to challenge again in a tournament where he finished third last year.

And the field will also feature South Africa’s Zander Lombard, who finished tied first in the European Tour’s Qualifying School recently.

“We are delighted with the field for this year’s tournament, which reflects how quickly it has grown and gained the respect of some of the world’s leading professionals,” said Ryan Dodds, Head of Golf Management & Projects: Veranda Leisure and Hospitality.

“We are only in our fourth year since the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open teed off as a tri-sanctioned event, and in this time we’ve had Major winners, former world number ones, European Ryder Cup stars and captains, Presidents Cup players and some of the most exciting young players in the game play in Mauritius. This year’s field is really another positive step in terms of our vision to keep growing the tournament as something unique in world golf.”

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is tri-sanctioned by the European Tour, Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour and will offer a total purse of €1 million.

Asian Tour number one Shubhankar Sharma is the latest to confirm his participation in the 2018 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita from 29 November to 2 December.

Sharma heads to the tri-sanctioned tournament between the Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour and European Tour as the biggest star of Indian golf who in three months over December 2017 and February 2018 won twice on the European Tour in the Joburg Open and the Maybank Championship.

His victory in the Joburg Open made him, at the age of 21, the youngest Indian to ever win on the European Tour.

The current leader on the Asian Tour’s Habitat for Humanity Standings heads to Mauritius having this year finished tied ninth in the WGC-Mexico Championship, and chasing a place on Ernie Els’s International Team for the 2019 Presidents Cup.

Sharma’s trip to the Indian Ocean island will give him another opportunity to impress Els as captain of the International Team, with the big South African also playing in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, a four-time winner on the European Tour, has also confirmed his place in the field as he makes his debut in this tournament.

“Mauritius is one of the most beautiful destinations in the world. I loved going there as a child for our family holidays and I have played in a couple of pro-ams there over the years. But this time I’m really looking forward to playing in my first AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.”

And the field will also include defending champion Dylan Frittelli from South Africa.

Ernie Els has confirmed that he will play in the 2018 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita from 29 November to 2 December, and as one of the game’s biggest stars to ever tee it up in this tri-sanctioned tournament between the European Tour, Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour.

The four-time Major winner, former world number one and World Golf Hall of Famer will make his debut in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, which this year will be played on an Anahita golf course that he designed. The tournament was also staged here in 2016.

“I’m really looking forward to playing in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open,” said Els, who is an International Ambassador for the Asian Tour. “It was a privilege to design this golf course and we’re thrilled with how it has matured in the past 10 years. One of its strengths is that we were able to maximise the visual impact of the surrounding scenery, but at the same time preserve the coastline’s natural beauty. The hole routings move in and out of the trees, along the water, and back, giving players great variety and magnificent views of the ocean. It’s going to be a lot of fun playing it in tournament conditions.”

Els’s presence in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open continues the tournament’s phenomenal growth in its four years as a tri-sanctioned event, and during which it has already featured some of the biggest names in golf such as 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, 2011 Open champion and former European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke, and victorious 2018 European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjørn.

Els is preparing for a big year in 2019 where he will captain the International Team in the Presidents Cup in Australia against his American rival Tiger Woods.

“It’s obviously going to be a very busy and exciting 2019,” said Els. “But The Presidents Cup is a little way off yet, so for now I’m very much focused on competing and trying to get the most out of my game. Hopefully a little ‘insider’ knowledge will work in my favour at Anahita. Let’s see. As I said, I’m really looking forward to the week.”