This week sees the DP World Tour’s Opening Swing conclude with the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, with plenty of incentive and a host of opportunities for those in action.
As part of the new-look schedule for the 2024 season announced in August, golf’s global Tour announced there would be three new and distinct phases on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open sees the brand-new La Réserve Golf Links stage the seventh edition of the popular tournament, co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Sunshine Tour.
Here, we answer the key questions at stake at the final event of the calendar year.
What is the Opening Swing?
The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is the sixth and final event in the first of the five ‘Global Swings’ that form the first phase on the 2024 Race to Dubai.
The Opening Swing began with the season-opening Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and is set to culminate on Sunday in Mauritius over the renowned Bel Ombre estate.
So far, Min Woo Lee, Joaquin Niemann along with non-members Dean Burmester and Louis Oosthuizen have won titles on the DP World Tour so far this season.
Winners on the DP World Tour so far in the 2024 season:
| Player | Event |
|---|---|
| Min Woo Lee | Fortinet Australian PGA Championship |
| Dean Burmester | Joburg Open |
| Joaquin Niemann | ISPS HANDA Australian Open |
| Dean Burmester | Investec South African Open Championship |
| Louis Oosthuizen | Alfred Dunhill Championship |
What is on offer in Mauritius?
Aside from the chance to lift the final piece of silverware in 2023, there are several new rewards to be claimed before the DP World Tour’s 13-month global odyssey takes a break for the festive period.
As with the four other ‘Global Swings’, the Opening Swing has its own Champion who will earn $200,000 from an overall $1million Bonus Pool.
Each swing champion will also qualify for each of the ‘Back 9’ events, which form phase two of the season and will run from August 2024 to October 2024.
Before that, the leading member (not otherwise exempt) from the Opening Swing will qualify for next month’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the opening Rolex Series event of the year.
Welcome to paradise 👋 #AfrAsiaBankMauritiusOpen pic.twitter.com/LMHadRlXq0
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) December 12, 2023
Who is in line to finish top of the Opening Swing rankings?
Heading into the final event of the Opening Swing, Lee leads the rankings for the six-event stretch after a stellar start to the campaign on home soil.
The Australian claimed his third DP World Tour title with victory at the season-opening Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, before following it up with a third-placed finish at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
But with Lee not in action this week, and 500 Race to Dubai points on offer for the winner, there are three players who mathematically can overhaul the World Number 34 and emerge as the champion of the Opening Swing.
They are Darren Fichardt and Renato Paratore, who both earned their return to the DP World Tour at last month’s final stage of Qualifying School, along with the talented 22-year-old Jayden Schaper.
Fichardt, a five-time winner on the DP World Tour, comes into the week fourth on the Race to Dubai after a runner-up finish at the Joburg Open on the opening weekend of the season.
Just one spot behind him is Italy’s two-time DP World Tour winner Paratore after he too finished solo second at the Investec South African Open Championship a week later.
Schaper, who sits eighth on the rankings, has been a model of consistency with three top tens in as many weeks on home soil in South Africa.
Having gained his full DP World Tour card for the first time ahead of the new season, he continued his excellent start with a seven-under-par 65 on the opening day's play at La Réserve Golf Links.
