Three Tours meet in Mauritius

This week’s inaugural AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is the first ever event to be tri-sanctioned by the European, Asian and Sunshine Tours.

Lowdown: This week’s inaugural AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is the first ever event to be tri-sanctioned by the European, Asian and Sunshine Tours.

A number of top players from each of the circuits have travelled to the Indian Ocean island nation to contest the event at the Heritage Golf Club in Domaine de Bel Ombre. There’s a 132-man field for the tournament with each of the three tours represented by 40 players, plus an additional 12 tournament invites.

Recent European Tour winner Kiradech Aphibarnrat will be looking to continue his good form in Mauritius. At the end of last month the Thai golfer won his second European Tour title at the Shenzhen International. Another man in the field who recently picked up his second European Tour title is George Coetzee – he won the 2015 Tshwane Open. The South African will play at the Heritage GC after participating in last week’s WGC-Cadillac Match Play.

Other big names on the start sheet include Thomas Bjorn of Denmark and his countryman Thorbjorn Olesen, who is returning to action for the first time since February following a hand injury.

The course at the Heritage Golf Club is one of the most beautiful in the Indian Ocean. With hills on one side and the lagoon on the other, this will be a spectacular setting for a golf tournament. Designed by Peter Matkovitch, it’s a layout where positioning looks to be of key importance. There are numerous streams and lakes to negotiate and a clear strategy on how to avoid these will be required.

The weather forecast for the week looks rather unsettled and there could be a threat of thunderstorms. Don’t be surprised if there are some interruptions to play.

Venue: Heritage GC, Domaine de Bel Ombre, Mauritius Date: May 7-10 Course stats: par 71, 7,036 yards Purse: €1,000,000 Winner: €166,660 Defending Champion: Inaugural event

TV Coverage: Thursday 7 – Sky Sports 4 from 7.30am Friday 8 – Sky Sports 4 from 7.30am Saturday 9 – Sky Sports 4 from 9am Sunday 10 – Sky Sports 4 from 9am

Player Watch: Prom Meesawat – He’s played well in European/Asian Tour co-sanctioned events so far this season, particularly in the Volvo China Open two weeks ago where he finished in a tie for third.

Scott Hend – One of the most successful international players on the Asian Tour, Hend has enjoyed some good results on the European Tour in 2015. He was tied 2nd in the True Thailand Classic.

Keith Horne – Another experienced campaigner, Horne has produced consistent results in co-sanctioned events in 2015. A Sunshine Tour player, the South African has made the cut in all four European/Sunshine Tour co-sanctioned events so far in 2015.

Key hole: 18th. A par-5 of 572 yards, this one will be reachable in two for the longer hitters. Turning from right to left, bunkers wait on both sides to catch an errant tee shot. Towards the green, a lake lurks on the left hand side, anything turned over too much could end up wet. If a player is chasing down the stretch, this finishing hole could provide an eagle chance, but there’s also the possibility of disaster!