Mauritius will host the most important golf event on the island, the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open this week from 12 to 15 May. The only tri-sanctioned golf tournament endorsed by the European, Asian and Sunshine Tours will be held at the picturesque Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita, designed by champion golfer Ernie Els.
A field of 126 international players will face each other in an attempt to win their share of the lucrative prize fund of € 1 000 000. The tournament will be broadcast live on television networks worldwide and is expected to be watched by around 400 million viewers around the globe.
Ahead of the official tee-off on Thursday 12 May, a full house of Mauritian media gathered at the offices of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) in Port Louis, where Chairman of MTPA, Arnaud Martin, Chairman MTPA expressed his excitement for the 2016 event.
“The MPTA is proud to be part of the second edition of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, after the success of the first one held last year. The inaugural tournament was very well organised, the participation and quality of the field of players was great, we had a good spectator turnout by the local public and the transmission of a worldwide television feed of the tournament, all count towards the enormous success of the first event.“
“I am very optimistic about the how the 2016 tournament will unfold and the success of the second edition. With its nine golf courses of international standard and a strong positioning as a premium golfing destination, Mauritius is proud to put forward this exceptional offer, having received several awards and accolades from the international golfing community over the last few years. I would like to thank the sponsors and organizers for the confidence they have placed in us by hosting the tournament in Mauritius. I welcome all the participants and wish them good luck. May the best player win,” concluded Mr Martin.
This year the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open has attracted some of the greatest international players such as Li Haotong, the 20 year old Chinese prodigy and winner of the Volvo China Open in April this year; Thomas Levet one of the greatest French players; Australian Scott Hend, recent winner of the True Thailand Classic in March, and George Coetzee, South African player and defending champion of the inaugural edition of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open held at the Heritage Golf Club last year.
Ludovic Bax, the only Mauritius professional player in the field, will have the honour of representing the islands hopes at the 2016 tournament.
Ryan Dodds, Chairman of the tournament organizing committee said: “Our field of players is of an exceptional standard this year and we are confident that the quality of the course, and hospitality of our sponsors will make this second instalment of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open an enormous success. This is fast becoming an event not to be missed on the international golfing calendar.”
The organizers are expecting a crowd of up to 5000 spectators for the second edition of the tournament at Anahita over the next few days, which is supported by AfrAsia Bank, MTPA, CIEL, Anahita, Rogers, Heritage Resorts, Villas Valriche, Air Mauritius, Sun Resorts and Jaguar, main sponsors of this fabulous tournament.
Exceptional prizes are also available for the players. The first hole-in-one on the 12th will win the All-New Jaguar XF and the first albatross on the 18th hole will win the All-New Jaguar F-PACE. The first hole-in-one on the 8th will win a holiday for a year at Heritage Telfair at Heritage Resorts.