Mauritius will once again welcome one of the most diverse fields in world golf drawn from the three major tours of the Sunshine Tour, European Tour and Asian Tour when the 2018 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open tees off at the Four Seasons Golf Club at Anahita from 29 November to 2 December.
South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli has already confirmed he will return to defend his title, while 2015 champion George Coetzee has also confirmed his place in the field. Former Ryder Cup player Nicolas Colsaerts and rising French star Romain Langasque are also amongst the early entrants.
The first tournament in international golf to be tri-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour, European Tour and Asian Tour has established itself as the largest sports event in the Indian Ocean, and an event that is positioning golf as one of the leading drivers of growth for the Mauritius brand.
The tournament, which offers a minimum of €1 million in prize money, has already succeeded in attracting some of the biggest names in the game, including 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, 2011 Open champion and 2016 European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke, 2018 European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjørn, and a myriad of former Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players as well as multiple Sunshine Tour, European Tour and Asian Tour winners.
It is an established fixture on the international golf calendar and has a global broadcast reach that extends to over 300 million households.
Last year the tournament featured the biggest field in its history of 156 professionals.
The 2018 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is set to set to take this even further with an event that counts towards the various tours’ individual Order of Merits, including the Race to Dubai, and which offers Official World Golf Ranking points.
This will be the second time in three years that Anahita hosts the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, and Dave Usendorff, the Director of Golf at the Four Seasons Golf Club at Anahita, says the golf course is in peak condition.
“The preparation of the golf course started at the beginning of the year, and the course is in fantastic condition. We have one of the best golf course superintendents in the world here in Mark Kirkby and he’s extremely passionate about this golf course, which was recently voted by TripAdvisor as the number one golf course in Mauritius.”
Patrice Legris, CEO of Anahita Mauritius/Alteo Properties, said they are delighted to once again be hosting a tournament that stands as Mauritius’s flagship sporting event.
“We are proud to be hosting the tournament again at Anahita Mauritius on the pristine East coast of the island. The exceptional seafront estate spreads along six kilometres of coastline and offers a unique golfing experience with some breathtaking signature holes overlooking the lagoon – living up to the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open’s status as “The most beautiful golf tournament in the world”. With the renowned Ile aux Cerfs Golf Club just a few minutes away, it is definitely a golfer’s paradise. The plethora of fine services and activities combined with the acclaimed Mauritian hospitality make for a truly unforgettable destination, even for non-golfers.”
The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open has taken on the unofficial status as “The Most Beautiful Golf Tournament in the World”, and it is a key contributor to the tourism and economic growth of Mauritius.
“Our sponsorship of this tournament demonstrates a strong intent to support the growth of the Mauritius brand and promote it as a destination for sports and tourism. The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open continues to attract the world’s best golfers since 2015,” said Sanjiv Bhasin, Chief Executive Officer of AfrAsia Bank.
“The tournament occupies an important place in our sponsorship portfolio. It enables us to grow our brand across borders. From our perspective, the game of golf is of interest to our clients based in different geographies where we want to expand business and allows us to share and support the passion of our clientele and build a closer relationship with them.”
This vision is shared by the many blue-chip sponsors that have combined to make this event a success, including Anahita Mauritius, Sun Resorts, CIEL, Mauritius Tourism and Promotion Authority, Heritage Resorts, Rogers Capital, Air Mauritius (Official Airline), Jaguar (Official Car), Coca-Cola, Phoenix Beverage, Illy Coffee, Emtel, Wellkin Hospital, 2BU Apparel, London No 1 Gin, Bougainville Rum, Mautourco, COGIR, Ernie Els Wines, Laurent Perrier and DSTV.