Preview
Event Info
Starts: 15th December 2022
Course: Mont Choisy Le Golf, Mauritius
Par: 72 (36-36)
Length: 7,050 yards
2020 Champion: Rasmus Hojgaard
Course Info
Course Designer: Peter Matkovich
Fairways: Average/Wide
Water Hazards: Features throughout.
Par 5's: 5th, 7th, 12th, 14th & 18th
Hosted Since: 2022
Weather Forecast
Thursday
Light rain and moderate breeze of 10-14mph.
Friday
Sunny intervals and moderate breeze of 10-14mph.
Saturday
Light cloud and moderate breeze of 12-15mph.
Sunday
Light cloud and moderate breeze of 12-15mph.
Significant Info To Be Aware Of
This is the first time the course has held the Mauritius Open.
Trends
Winning score
With no previous events at Mont Choisy Le Golf, we have no scores to compare. Course designer, Peter Matkovich, stated “I think in December at the time of the tournament the golf course should play hard and fast, which is what we’d like. I do believe we’ll see good scores from the professionals.”
Nationality
South Africans have won two of the five Mauritius Opens contested on the DP World Tour.
Stats Analysis
The course is being used for the first time so we have no stats to analyse.
In Play
Tough Holes
The scorecard lists the 5th and 14th as the hardest holes but given they are par 5 holes, they are unlikely to be the hardest holes for the professionals.
Birdie Holes
The 4th and 11th holes are listed as the easiest on the scorecard but these are par 3 holes and are unlikely to play as the easiest holes for the professionals
Quotes
“From what I have heard, all the courses in Mauritius are pretty similar. It is pretty open off the tee but the wind is very strong this week so you are going to have to precise with the second shot, put the ball in the right place. You don’t want to give yourself a chip downwind, downhill [as] it is going to be really hard. Strategy is going to be very key. I heard a lot of the greens are undulating.” Antoine Rozner
“It looks very linksy, no trees, a lot of run-offs with hills and bumps. The grass is very good. I think the weather is going to be the main contributing factor to scoring so depending on what the weather is like it will have a heavy impact on what the guys shoot." Oliver Bekker
Players Who Just Missed Out
Nicolas Colsaerts 160/1
Colsaerts has been a regular visitor to Mauritius for the past 20+ years and enjoys a level of comfort on the island. He recently turned 40 and was given the honour of being one of Luke Donald's vice captains at the Ryder Cup in Rome next year. Those two factors are bound to give him an added determination to play well and it was no surprise to hear him on a podcast last month talk about how he wants to remain competitive and get himself into contention in tournaments going forward. He hasn't played since the Andalucia Masters in October so for that reason we left him out.
James Hart Du Preez 175/1
Monster hitting Du Preez should take well to the test this week, with five par 5's and a couple of driveable par 4's. For whatever reason, he has not played a lot of golf in 2022 so it was no surprise to see him miss the cut at Joburg, but has improved in the last two weeks, finishing 23rd at the SA Open and 58th last week at leopard Creek - a venue which really shouldn't suit. Du Preez showed last year he can compete at this level when the test suits, when he finished 5th at Steyn Championship. That leaderboard was full of big hitters including Dean Burmester and Oliver Bekker who are expected to contend this week.
Filippo Celli 200/1
Celli was this year's European Amateur Champion and backed that up by taking the Silver medal at The Open for top amateur and going on to finish 7th at the ISPS Handa World Invitational. He's shown he can compete at this level and 200/1 is a big price in a field this weak.
In-play
AfrAsia Mauritius Open in-play tips
16th December 2022, 7:25pm (UK time)
| Player | Total |
|---|
| Valimaki |
-10 |
| Rozner |
-10 |
| Garcia-Heradia |
-10 |
| Bekker |
-9 |
| Bring |
-8 |
| Jarvis |
-8 |
| Pineau |
-8 |
Round 2 Summary
Leaders Sami Valimaki and Oliver Bekker were not able to extend their lead and Valimaki has been caught by Alfredo Garcia-Heardia and Antoine Rozner. The later shot a sublime bogey free 64 in the afternoon winds.
Notable Round 2 Quotes
" All of them. I played really solid yesterday and really solid today. I improved my putting. I went to see a putting coach because last year wasn't very good. I'm really happy with all of that." Alfredo Garcia-Heradia
" You had to aim so far right or so far left in the side winds. I made one mistake on five but after that I didn't make a lot of mistakes. But putting was solid, short game as well so I'm happy with everything." Antoine Rozner
Round 3 Weather
Sunny Intervals. Wind 12-16 mph.
How do we expect the market favourites to perform?
Antoine Rozner has assumed favouritism at a best price 9/4 and rightly so after how he handled the tough conditions today. We can expect more strong winds tomorrow but it's worth noting Rozner admitted he squeezed every shot out of that round today and we saw from Valimaki and Bekker how hard it was to back up a low one here.
Sami Valimaki will be looking to bounce back and has drifted to 4/1. He has lost a bit of momentum and although a threat, we are happy to take him on currently. Oliver Bekker is in a similar position and also looks a tad short at 5/1.
Garcia-Heradia last led an event at halfway in 2021 and ended up finishing 11th. Although he won a challenge tour event since then, he also seems a short price at 6/1.
Where is the value?
The leaders found it tough today and it could be the same story tomorrow as the wind continues to blow. Someone from the chasing pack is bound to go low and this leaderboard could have a very different look tomorrow evening. Our pre-event selection Mattieu Pavon looks far too big at 400/1 from an each way perspective but we will go with two big dangers five shots back.
Round 3 Bet
You can join our free Telegram group by clicking the button above.
15th December 2022, 5:25pm (UK time)
| Player | Total |
|---|
| Valimaki |
-10 |
| Bekker |
-8 |
| Pineau |
-7 |
| Ritchie |
-6 |
| Bring |
-5 |
| Ko |
-5 |
| Lemke |
-5 |
Round 1 Summary
Sami Valimaki produced an astonishing putting display to card a course record 62, which was closely followed by Oliver Bekker on 64. Pierre Pineau shot the best round of the morning wave with a 65.
Notable Round 1 Quotes
" I feel like I found the rhythm and the speed for the greens and that was the key to the day." Sami Valimaki
" Because of the wind, you're sure you're going to miss some greens so you have to miss on the good side, and just make birdie on some easy holes. There's five par fives, so that's many opportunities." Pierre Pineau
Round 2 Weather
Cloudy with some morning sun. Wind 9-14 mph.
How do we expect the market favourites to perform?
Sami Valimaki is quite rightly 13/5 favourite and had hinted at Joburg that he is close to getting back in the winners circle after a 2nd place to Dan Bradbury. We can't expect another putting display like that but we have to expect the classy Finn to keep the foot down with an early start.
Oliver Bekker is his nearest challenger and has a terrific record in Mauritius with four top 10's in a row. It's worth mentioning that he was a far worse player when he was racking these results up and confidence should be flying after a terrific season. 20/1 pre-event got our attention but this is his 6th week playing in a row and fatigue is the worry with Bekker. If he can keep his energy levels up this looks like a perfect chance for him to get that first DP World Tour win though.
Pre-event favourite Thomas Detry has maintained his price of 7/1 despite falling six behind and we don't see any value in him at this point. He has his girlfriend on the bag this week which may indicate he isn't taking it as serious as other weeks.
Where is the value?
The leaderboard is very spread out for a Thursday evening and we do expect the front two to keep moving forward. The early starters have slightly less wind to contend with but there's not much in it.
Round 2 Bet
You can join our free Telegram group by clicking the button above.
