The curtain comes down on the calendar year on the DP World Tour as the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open hosts the final event of the Opening Swing. Here are your five things to know.
Opening Swing comes to a close
For the second consecutive season, Mauritius plays host to the crowning of the DP World Tour's king of the Opening Swing. The US$1.5 million AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is the final tournament of the Tour's five-event swing, with a field of DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour stars gathering at the spectacular Mont Choisy Le Golf in Grand Baie. The winner of the Opening Swing will earn a US$200,000 bonus as well as exemption into the upcoming Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the next Rolex Series tournament, and to some of the Tour’s most historic tournaments, each offering increased Race to Dubai Ranking Points and the chance to qualify for the DP World Tour Championship. Johannes Veerman leads the Opening Swing Rankings on 665 points after his win at the Nedbank Golf Challenge earlier this month, but with the American not in action this week there is opportunity for others to capitalise. The most immediate contenders who are teeing it up on the Indian Ocean island are John Parry (281.47 points), Ryan van Velzen (271.98 points), Angel Ayora (245.45 points) and Marcus Kinhult (224 points).
12 months ago
With victory at this event last year, Louis Oosthuizen sealed his second DP World Tour victory in succession after winning the Alfred Dunhill Championship a week earlier. While some players made some seriously low scores, the South African was a picture of consistency, carding his lowest round of the week with a 65 on day three and signing for a closing 69 to take the title by two shots at 17 under. The victory at La Réserve Golf Links was even sweter for Oosthuizen as not only did he help design the layout but his children were in attendance. "I'm glad I could pull this off this week, it's sort of a dream come true being able to play a tournament on a golf course you helped design and end up winning it," he said. "This is the first event my daughters have been to where I won, this is very special."
A history of breakout winners
This event first entered the DP World Tour international schedule in May of 2015 and George Coetzee took the inaugural title, with the tournament proving a springboard for many careers since. Jeughun Wang took the 20016 title, his second win in as many weeks en route to being crowned Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, with Dylan Frrittelli also climing his second win as the event moved to December and the early part of the 2018 season. Kurt Kitayama's win in the 2019 campaign was followed by another three months later and Rasmus Højgaard took his maiden victory at the start of the 2020 season. There was no event for two years due to Covid-19 but Antoine Rozner won the 2023 edition - the first to be held at Mont Choisy Le Golf - before Oosthuizen's win 12 months ago.
Young guns aiming to make an impact
Looking to follow in the footsteps of Højgaard and co, a host of rising stars and newly professional players tee it up in the Indian Ocean this week. Global Amateur Pathway Rankings winner Wenyi Ding will be looking to continue his impressive start to life on tour along with fellow GAP graduates Jakob Skov Olesen and Bastien Amat, who won Challenge Tour cards via the Rankings but made it to the DP World Tour via the Qualifying School. German Tiger Christensen missed out at Qualifying School but turned professional shortly after and he is in the field this week, joined by South Africa's Christo Lamprecht, the 2023 Amateur Championship winner who entered the paid ranks in the summer. Ryan van Velzen topped the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit last season and is another young star looking for a maiden DP World Tour win after narrowly missing out last week on home soil at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
Inside the field
Home favourites Pierre Pellegrin and Gabriel Le Court De Billot lead the Mauritian charge this week but they are not the only players who will be feelling right at home. German Marcel Siem lives in Mauritius and he tees it up along with Rozner, a winner the last time the event was held at this venue and a man with two other top tens on the island. David Ravetto lifted a trophy last season and is joined by a host of multiple DP World Tour winners including Richard Sterne, Thomas Aiken, Justin Harding, Andrea Pavan, Ross Fisher, Alex Levy, Lucas Bjerregaard and Eddie Pepperell.
