Oliver Bekker is hoping to save his best for last and land his maiden DP World Tour title at the final event of the calendar year, the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
The South African graduated from the Challenge Tour in 2021 and registered eight top tens in the 2022 season, including a runner-up finish at the Catalunya Championship, as he impressed on his way to qualifying for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship last month.
He has since played in each of the three co-sanctioned tournaments with the Sunshine Tour at the start of the 2023 season and is encouraged with where his game is at after being back in contention at last week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship, as he swaps the bush for the ocean.
“That was really good,” he said of his tie for fourth on home soil at the border of the Kruger National Park.
“It is always nice if you have a chance to win so I enjoyed playing there. It is always a treat playing Leopard Creek.
“The weather is always good, you get to see the animals in the park, so it was amazing.”
Bekker, who made his DP World Tour debut in 2008, is a seven-time winner on the Sunshine Tour but is now aiming to become a champion across multiple circuits.
“It’s been a really good year for me so I hope I can finish it off with another strong solid performance and maybe get that first win of the season,” he added.
The 38-year-old has played in every edition of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open since it launched in 2015, only missing out on the top ten once in 2016.
After a two-season hiatus from the schedule, the event returns at a new venue in Mont Choisy Le Golf and Bekker is looking forward to the test it will bring.
“It looks very linksy, no trees, a lot of run-offs with hills and bumps,” he said. “The grass is very good. I think it is going to be a good, fun week.
“I think the weather is going to be the main contributing factor to scoring so depending on what the weather is like it will have a heavy impact on what the guys shoot.
“It has been a long year, a lot of golf. This is my sixth week in a row. It is nice to be able to come off the course, relax, come to the beach, put your feet up a little bit, forget about golf and just recharge a little bit.”
