The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open celebrates its fifth anniversary as “golf’s most beautiful tournament” this year, and at the end of a jam-packed season of Majors some of the world’s leading professionals are now viewing Mauritius as the ideal destination for a mid-season break and some practice at the award-winning Heritage Golf Club.

German professional golfer Marcel Siem attended the official launch of the 2019 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open on the 1st of August and another full field of professionals will gather at Heritage Golf Club from the 5th to the 8th of December for a tri-sanctioned tournament that is driving the growth of Mauritius as an increasingly popular destination for the world’s leading professionals.

Last year four-time Major winner Ernie Els made his debut in the tournament, joining 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, 2011 Open champion and 2016 European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke, 2018 European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjørn, and a host of former Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players as well as multiple Sunshine Tour, European Tour and Asian Tour winners.

And this September Heritage Golf Club will break ground on the construction of its second championship course, a design collaboration between Peter Matkovich and Louis Oosthuizen that will further enhance the island’s status as a growing powerhouse in world golf travel.

“We are extremely proud of the phenomenal growth of this tournament in five years and how it has captured the attention of some of the leading players in world golf. The vision for our sponsorship of this event was always around driving the growth of Brand Mauritius, and as a bank firmly committed to the success of Mauritius. The development around the tournament mirrors our own status as a bank with a truly global reach,” said Sanjiv Bhasin, Chief Executive Officer of AfrAsia Bank.

Being the last event of the year on the Sunshine Tour held directly after the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the Alfred Dunhill Championship as well as the second tournament on the European Tour's Race to Dubai for the 2020 season also make it a very attractive way for professionals to finish their year with a golf in paradise.

“It has been remarkable to witness the growth of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, which has provided the perfect platform to showcase Mauritius and our award-winning resorts in Heritage Bel Ombre to the rest of the world. The positive feedback from the players is that this is indeed golf in paradise,” said Francois Eynaud, CEO of Veranda Leisure and Hospitality (VLH).

“We are excited to be starting with the construction of our second championship golf course at the Heritage Golf Club this September and it will add significantly to a hospitality and golf offering which we believe rivals the best in the world.”