Four-time European Tour winner and six-time Asian Tour champion SSP Chawrasia will make his debut at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at The Heritage Golf Club at Heritage Resorts on November 30 – December 3 2017.
Chawrasia joins a field that includes 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen, multiple European Tour winners George Coetzee, Scott Hend and Brandon Stone and rising French star Romain Langasque.
Reigning Hero Indian Open champion Chawrasia is aiming to make a push for the Asian Tour Order of Merit crown with a solid performance in Mauritius. He is currently ranked fourth on the Order of Merit ranking and has a fighting chance to win the accolade for the first time in his career.
Chawrasia said: “This is the first time I’m playing at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open and I’m very excited because I heard it is such a beautiful island. I know it will be very windy but I’m used to playing in the wind from my experience of playing in Europe.
“My focus now is to become the Asian Tour number one. Earlier in the year, I wasn’t too far back because I was playing so well. Now I’m trailing by about US$200,000 so I need to do well or win a big event like the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. It is definitely my goal to win the Order of Merit.”
Chawrasia, who represented India in the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition in Rio last year, successfully defended his Hero Indian Open title in March, becoming only the third player in history to win the title in successive years.
This year he was also a recipient of India’s prestigious Arjuna Award in recognition of his performances on the international stage over the past decade.
He made European Tour history in 2008 when he became the first player to win on his debut in the Indian Masters, and was the third Indian golfer to win on the European Tour.
The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is tri-sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour and this year the tournament field has been expanded to include 156 professionals competing for the €1 million in prize money.
