The DP World Tour is almost ready to wave goodbye to 2024, but before the two part ways, there is still time for one more tournament - the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen won last year's event at a course he helped to design, but with the Mauritius Open having returned to the site of the 2022 championship and with no Oosthuizen in site, it's all change this time around.
Frenchman Antoine Rozner leads the market in terms of betting favorites in 2024, and he is ably supported by Spain's Angel Ayora and England's John Parry - both of whom enjoyed very strong performances at the Alfred Dunhill Championship last week.
But, in the fifth and final event of the 'Opening Swing,' a fresh field of golfers will be looking to follow in the footsteps of Shaun Norris and cap off their year in the perfect way.
Four of the Golf Monthly team have selected who we believe that will be, plus another player we think might well enjoy a surprisingly good few days...
MAURITIUS OPEN: THE COURSE
Mont Choisy Le Golf in Grand Baie is the host site for the 2024 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, returning for a second time after debuting in 2022. On the first occasion it was used, Antoine Rozner posted 19-under and cantered to victory by five strokes.
The 7,051-yard layout will play as a par-72 this week, featuring five par-3s and five par-5s alongside the majority of par-4 holes. It was designed by Peter Matkovich and only opened in October 2017.
Its signature hole is the 138-yard par-3 15th, with a flicked wedge all that's required to send the ball over a wetland area to an island green sat in front of an old, tall stone chimney.
The remainder of the course features black volcanic rock waste areas, palm-fringed fairways and plenty of water hazards - with small lakes a characteristic of many holes throughout.
MAURITIUS OPEN PREVIOUS WINNERS
There was no tournament in 2020 or 2021 due to Covid-19.
MAURITIUS OPEN BETTING ODDS
The odds to win outright are via FanDuel Sportsbook
- Antoine Rozner (+850)
- Angel Ayora (+1400)
- John Parry (+2000)
- Richard Mansell (+2500)
- Gavin Green (+2500)
- Jayden Schaper (+2800)
- Wenyi Ding (+3000)
- Marcus Kinhult (+3000)
- Casey Jarvis (+3300)
- Oliver Lindell (+3500)
- Matthew Southgate (+3500)
- Sean Crocker (+4000)
- Zihao Jin (+4500)
- Kieran Vincent (+4500)
- Robin Williams (+4500)
- Nicolai von Dellingshausen (+4500)
- Marcel Schneider (+4500)
- Andrea Pavan (+4500)
- Yurav Premlall (+5000)
- Daniel Brown (+6000)
- All other players priced at +6500 or higher
MAURITIUS OPEN BETTING PICKS
FAVORITE: Angel Ayora (+1400)
The talented Spaniard has reportedly turned down LIV Golf to chase his DP World Tour and PGA Tour dream and things are going very well for him at the minute after graduating from the Challenge Tour.
In his last 12 starts he has a win and six other top-sixes, including a T5th at last week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship. He looks to be a star in the making who could go and win his first DPWT title this week.
OUTSIDER: Ryan Van Velzen (+7500)
The South African comes into the week in great form after a T2nd at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, where he finished just one back of Shaun Norris. Van Velzen has four pro wins, all in South Africa, including two in the 2023-24 Sunshine Tour season to claim the Order of Merit.
He played in two Majors this year and has twice played in the Mauritius Open. At just 23 years of age, he is another young South African to look out for over the coming years.
FAVORITE: Casey Jarvis (+3300)
Jarvis had a strong end to 2024, finishing sixth at the Genesis Championship in his penultimate start of the year before kicking off the 2025 season with a T11th finish in South Africa.
The South African was 25th in this event last year, following another strong effort the week before, so clearly tends to start the new season off well. He currently ranks first for par-5 scoring, a key metric here considering there are five of them at Mont Choisy Le Golf. At a decent price, there is plenty to like about this young talent.
OUTSIDER: Daniel Brown (+6000)
Dan Brown played some great golf in 2024, with a third-place finish at the Andalucia Masters and a 10th-place finish at The Open perhaps the highlights. He was unfazed by the particularly changing wind conditions at Royal Troon, which will stand him in good stead for this test, and when you consider that he was T3rd at this event last year, he represents plenty of value at a big price.
FAVORITE: Antoine Rozner (+850)
I know he is the favorite but, before I even looked at the field, he was the player that first came into my head, with the Frenchman in some seriously impressive form of late after claiming solo fourth at the Genesis Championship, T6th at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and a share of third at the DP World Tour Championship.
If the recent run of results aren't enough to convince you, it's worth noting that Rozner won this event the year before last at this course, lost in a playoff back in 2019 and finished inside the top-10 in 2018. If that doesn't show form at a tournament, I don't know what does!
OUTSIDER: Jacob Skov Olesen (+12000)
We've already seen one Dane win this tournament in the shape of Rasmus Hojgaard, so why not another? Jacob Skov Olesen won the 2024 Amateur Championship back in June and is the player I'm opting for here, with Olesen enjoying a decent start to professional life following a tie for 27th at the Australian Open.
The left-hander is one of the more accurate drivers of the golf ball on the DP World Tour, averaging 72.6% of fairways hit. What's more, he has a very good short game which, over the tough terrain of Mont Choisy Le Golf, should come in very handy indeed.
FAVORITE: Kieran Vincent (+4500)
The former LIV golfer is set to make his first career start on the DP World Tour, days after his time with the PIF-backed league officially came to an end. Despite losing his place in the LIV Golf League via relegation, Vincent has been playing some excellent stuff over the past few weeks, scoring three top-10s in four starts on the Asian Tour and picking up at least half a shot on the field in each.
With one of the weaker fields at a DP World Tour event in front of him, I do not think it's out of the question that he starts in the best way possible and secures his short-term future in Europe.
OUTSIDER: Yurav Premlall (+5000)
Since the start of June (16 events), South African Premlall has finished second, third, or fourth in seven tournaments on the Sunshine Tour - also claiming victory at the Vodacom Origins of Golf - Sishen. During that time, he hasn't missed a single cut, either.
Although he has struggled in the past when making the step up to the DP World Tour, the 21-year-old appears to be finding his feet as a pro and could well sneak a high finish at the Mauritius Open.
HOW TO WATCH MAURITIUS OPEN
USA (ET)
- Thursday, December 19 - Round One: 3:30am - 8:30am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Friday, December 20 - Round Two: 3:30am - 8:30am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Saturday, December 21 - Round Three: 4:00am - 8:30am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Sunday, December 22 - Round Four: 1:00am - 6:00am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
UK (GMT)
- Thursday, December 19 - Round One: 8:30am - 1:30pm (Sky Sports Golf)
- Friday, December 20 - Round Two: 8:30am - 1:30pm (Sky Sports Golf)
- Saturday, December 21 - Round Three: 9:00am - 1:30pm (Sky Sports Golf)
- Sunday, December 22 - Round Four: 6:00am - 11:00am (Sky Sports Golf)
