AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open: Final Event of the Pre-christmas DP World Tour Schedule

• This is the final event of the pre-Christmas DP World Tour schedule 
• Host course Mont Choisy is a short par 72 measuring 7,051 yards
• Thomas Detry has yet to win on the DP World Tour but is joint-favorite

AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open Odds

The odds for this tournament are provided by Caesars Sportsbook. Click on the odds below to head to Caesars Sportsbook and place a bet.

AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open Our Picks

• Matthew Southgate should enjoy this week’s test and comes in showing good form. Back the Englishman to take victory at +4000 with Caesars Sportsbook.
• Oliver Bekker owns a pair of top 10s in two starts in this event and returns in fine shape. He can beat Jayden Schaper in a 72-hole match bet at -120 with DraftKings Sportsbook.
• Japanese youngster Ryo Hisatsune looks a real talent and can follow up his second place at the Aussie PGA with a Top 10 here at +350 with bet365.

AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open Predictions

The final act of the DP World Tour takes us to the island of Mauritius.

Get out the map and you’ll find it located in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa. It’s certainly a scenic setting for golf’s closing event of the calendar year.

The previous five editions of the tournament have alternated between Anahita Golf Club and Heritage Golf Club but this time, after a two-year break for the pandemic, the event heads to Mont Choisy.

As you might expect, the course which sits around 15 miles from the capital, Port Louis, is very easy on the eye.

It opened as recently as 2018 and the card shows it to be a short par 72 measuring just 7,051 yards. 

There are five par 3s and five par 5s, three of the latter coming at 12, 14 and 18 providing scope for a grandstand finish.

Although set a little further inland than some courses on the island, reports suggest it looks linksy in nature.

In addition, of the two previous courses used for this event, Mont Choisy appears more like Anahita.

A reminder that the winners there were Jeung-hun Wang in 2016 and Kurt Kitayama in 2018. 

With South Africa a relatively short hop away, it’s no surprise to see that two of the other three champions of this event were George Coetzee in 2015 and Dylan Frittelli in 2017.

Indeed, this tournament is co-sanctioned by the South African Sunshine Tour.

Southgate for the ‘W’

Thomas Detry has strong claims this week after an impressive run on the PGA Tour but the Belgian is just +600 to bank what would be a first DP World Tour victory.

So having just missed out last week when our +3500 tip Adrian Otaegui finished runner-up in the Alfred Dunhill Championship, I’m going to play someone at a similar price.

Matthew Southgate, like Detry, has also yet to win on the DP World Tour despite going close on a string of occasions. But the Englishman is +4000 rather than +600 to do so.

Why here? Well, one of Southgate’s closest brushes with victory came at the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.

The three courses used there are links venues that play easy (to accommodate the amateurs taking part) and that’s similar here in Mauritius.

Southgate shot 21-under when finishing runner-up there and did so despite dealing with some windy conditions. Again, that’s likely this week.

Add in a bunch of form on links or links style courses and his chance starts to become an obvious one.

The final piece of the puzzle is current form and he’s been ticking over nicely with tied 24th (Joburg Open) and tied 26th (Alfred Dunhill Championship) in two of the recent South African events.

He was 6th for Strokes Gained: Tee To Green and 7th for SG: Approach in the latter so Southgate’s underlying stats look good.

Back him to claim an overdue and deserved first DP World Tour win at +4000 with Caesars Sportsbook. 

Bekker to Outscore Schaper

We landed last week’s 72-hole match bet in no-stress fashion as pick Joost Luiten finished tied 13th and Edoardo Molinari missed the cut.

This week I’m going to take on Oliver Bekker to beat fellow South African Jayden Schaper.

Bekker has thrived in this event, finishing seventh on debut at Anahita in 2018 and adding ninth at Heritage in 2019. 

His game looks ripe for a third straight top 10 in Mauritius after tied 13th in the Joburg Open at the end of November and fourth in last week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship.

Schaper is playing nicely too and went 18-9-26 in the three recent co-sanctioned events in South Africa.

But Bekker beat him in two of those three duels and, as stated, has some notable history in this event previously. By contrast, this is Schaper’s tournament debut. 

It’s Bekker who holds the aces and he’s the bet at -120 with DraftKings Sportsbook.

Take Hisatsune for a Top 10 

Ryo Hisatsune caught the eye recently when following up some good form on his home Japanese Tour by finishing runner-up in the Australian PGA Championship.

He was also seventh with 18 holes to play at the following week’s Australian Open before slipping away while he finished well last week at the Alfred Dunhill Championship to post tied 26th.

Still just 20, Hisatsune looks a real talent and his strong iron play should set up plenty of birdie chances on this track.

He ranked 6th for Strokes Gained: Putting at the Aussie PGA and looks worth a punt at +350 with bet365 to crack the top 10.

AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open Information

• Tournament - AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open 
• Location - Mont Choisy Le Golf, Grand Baie, Mauritius
• Time - Thursday, December 15 - Sunday, December 18
• How to Watch - Thursday 3.30am-12.30pm ET (Golf Channel), Friday 3.30am-11.30am, Saturday 3am-11am, Sunday 3am-7.30am. All 4 days on Sky Sports