We take a look at the European Tour’s Mauritius Open taking place at the Four Seasons Golf Club.
Mauritius Open | 29 November – 2 December | Four Seasons Golf Club at Anahita
The European Tour gets all exotic this weekend with the fourth renewal of the Mauritius Open. To be clearer, this is actually a tri-sanctioned event between the European, Asian and Sunshine Tour. This event was initially held in May but now falls in conjunction with the Australian PGA Championship. It started its life at the Heritage Resorts Course but has since alternated with the Four Seasons Golf Club. The field is far from explosive with many of the top players in hiatus mode with the completion of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
The Four Seasons Golf Club at Anahita is yet another Ernie Els design. The course was opened as recently as 2008 and once again bears elements of the links-style course that Els loved so dearly. The picturesque course winds its way through a breath-taking expanse of lagoon and mountain. It has wide, generous Bermuda fairways that lead to large, undulating TidDwarf Bermuda Greens. The course is littered with links-style burns and classically deep pot bunkers. As is typical of resort courses, there is hardly any rough to speak of and scoring should be low should the wind play ball.
Last season saw young South African talent Dylan Frittelli take home the title. Frittelli is back to defend alongside the likes of George Coetzee and Richard Sterne. With such close proximity to South Africa, it’s perhaps no surprise that South African players often figure largely in this event. Speaking of South African golfers, legendary future Hall of Famer Ernie Els will be attendance to sample his own design.
Past Winners
2015: George Coetzee (-13)*playoff
2016: Jeunghen Wang (-6)
2017: Dylan Frittelli (-16)
To Win Outright
Dylan Frittelli 7/1 | Jordan Smith 14/1 | George Coetzee 20/1 | Richard Sterne 22/1 | Bernd Wiesberger 25/1
Value Bets
Ernie Els- To Win 40/1, To Place 17/2
This one could be easily mistaken as a sentimental favourite. The Big Easy has actually been in encouraging form, making his last five consecutive cuts. That included a third-place finish at a decent Fiji International field. This field is far from intimidating and you obviously have course familiarity to deal with. Els designed the course and knows every surprise in store. The past links master will thrive should the wind rise. His recent GIR stats have been impressive and make him a worthwhile candidate this week.
Eduardo Molinari- To Win 70/1, To Place 15/1
Eduardo Molinari’s attempts to rehabilitate his own game have been somewhat overshadowed by the meteoric rise of his brother, Francisco Molinari. He has made his last four consecutive cuts which included last week’s Hong Kong Open. That result was actually quite impressive considering he was on the bad end of the Thursday draw. Molinari ranked seventh for scrambling last week, which could prove a vital statistic around this layout. He finished 12th here in 2016 after a list of results that read MC-MC-MC-MC-MC-MC-42-47. He also succeeded 2016 champ Wang as the Trophee Hassan II champion, which further hints at his favourability for this course.
Siddikur Rahman- To Win 140/1, To Place 30/1
This one is a bit of a shot in the dark, though it looks fairly appealing at an astronomical 140/1. Bangladesh professional Siddikur Rahman finished runner-up the last time this event was played at Four Seasons. He also seems to be in decent form, finishing runner-up at the recent Panasonic Open India. That combination of recent form and course credentials make him a massive value option at 140/1.
The Man to Beat- Matthias Schwab- To Win 25/1, To Place 11/2
Matthias Schwab has to be considered an absolute bargain at 25/1, especially considering Sterne at 22/1. The Austrian is in great form since missing the cut at the KLM Open: a tie for 47th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge has been his worst result since. That includes five finishes inside the top 30, including a tie for ninth at last week’s Hong Kong Open. A player of his potential and consistency seems primed to potentially dominate an event as low-key as this one.
