Beau Champ, Mauritius, November 28: Jeunghun Wang of Korea is excited to be back for the €1 million (approximately US$1.14 million) AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open which tees off on Thursday.

The 23-year-old Wang won the tournament in 2016 and he is riding on the positive vibes from the Four Seasons Golf Club, Mauritius at Anahita to spur him to another triumphant performance.

Wang pipped Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman to the title two years ago, when the tournament was played on the same venue. Both golfers were deadlocked going into the final hole of the event and it was Wang who scored the pivotal birdie on the final hole to win his maiden Asian Tour title by one shot.

Fellow past champions Dylan Frittelli and George Coetzee are also fancying their chances at the event, tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour.

Last year, when the event was played at the Heritage Golf Club, South Africa’s Frittelli beat India’s Arjun Atwal in a play-off to capture his second European Tour title.

Frittelli is looking to improve his record at the Four Seasons Golf Club, Mauritius at Anahita. He missed the cut when the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open was played there in 2016.

Compatriot Coetzee lifted the winged trophy in 2015 after defeating Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen on the second extra hole. Like many golfers in the field, he is enjoying the pleasant atmosphere in Mauritius but remains focused on playing well in the tournament.

Ernie Els of South Africa

It will be a homecoming for Asian Tour honorary member and International Ambassador Ernie Els. The four-time Major winner will be competing for the first time on the golf course that he designed.

Most definitely, he will be using his intimate knowledge of the course to his advantage at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open

Did you know:

• Jeunghun Wang won back-to-back European titles in 2016, in Morocco and Mauritius. With that, he became the youngest player at 20 years and 263 days to achieve this feat.
• Wang also capped a remarkable maiden season in Europe by claiming the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year title in 2016.
• Also in 2016, he was placed a career-high third on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. Apart from his victory in Mauritius, he posted five top-10s on Tour that year.
• Dylan Frittelli missed the cut at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in 2015 and 2016 before winning it in 2017.
• He was awarded the European Tour Graduate of the Year in 2017.
• George Coetzee has traditionally done well in this part of the world. Out of the four European Tour tournaments that he won, three were held in South Africa and one was held in Mauritius.
• Ernie Els accepted an Asian Tour honorary membership and became the Tour’s International Ambassador in 2013.
• He won three times on the Asian Tour, at the 2003 Johnnie Walker Classic, 2005 Qatar Masters and 2005 BMW Asian Open.

Players’ Quotes

Jeunghun Wang (Kor)

I’m so happy to come back here. I love this course so I’m so excited to play this week and I hope I play well.

I like the wind actually, so I hope it is windy this week. I like the  conditions here – the fairways, the greens, I love it all, so I’m so excited right now.

I love to stay in this resort. There are good views around the hotel, so it’s nice to stay there. I love this whole place.

I won here two years ago so, it feels a little different coming here compared to other tournaments. I’m just really enjoying being here right now. I don’t feel any pressure. I hope to enjoy this week and enjoy Mauritius.

If I win this week, that will meet my goal for this season. I want to win one time this season on the European Tour. That would be good for me. My goal is always to win, so I hope to do that again in the 2019 season.

I played Asian Tour for about three years before transitioning to the European Tour. The experience on the Asian Tour helped me tremendously, as I had the chance to play on a variety of course conditions. I also learned from playing alongside many good players.

And having played on the European Tour for the last two years, I realised that I’ve developed as a person. In particular, I am getting better at managing my emotions better on and off the golf course.

Dylan Frittelli (Rsa)

I look back on last year with fond memories, but I’ve got bigger sights this year. Hopefully I can win a few times or win some even bigger tournaments, but first of all, I want to play well here

I’m trying to win every event I play in, it’s just a matter of getting better and learning different conditions and trying to play better in bigger tournaments which are tougher to win. With better players in the field, it’s always going to be tough, but I’m not putting too much pressure on myself.

Coming in here as defending champion relaxes me if anything because the pressure is off me. People may say, “oh you’re used to the golf course”, well, no, I played here two years ago and missed the cut. Hopefully, this year will go a lot better.

It’s wonderful here. It’s nice to get off the course as you can relax easily. I’m partial to the ocean, I love surfing, I love swimming, so it’s a good spot for me to be in, it calms me down. I’ve got my family here this week as well, my sister, brother in law and parents are here, so I’m sure they’ll take a bit of my time I’m sure.

George Coetzee (Rsa)

I love the island vibe here; it’s such a special place to come and play. Obviously winning the first one makes it extra special for me to come back. It’s good fun. The weather comes and goes – every day you’ll have some time on the beach and some time that you can chill in your room, but it’s just a fun place to come to.

You can’t control the “uncontrollable”; you try to take every day as it comes. I’ll just be trying to play some decent golf as the season progresses.

With so many South Africans in the field, it feels like I’m playing a fun Sunshine Tour event very and we’ve invited a couple of Europeans along to watch us play.

Ernie Els (Rsa)

It’s really exciting to be back, I haven’t been back here since we opened the course. It’s so nice to have a tournament of this stature to be played on our golf course.

We have wider fairways but most of the holes were built with the oceanic winds in consideration. The greens are pretty small and they are quite undulating so that is where your challenge will be this week. You are going to have ample room from the tee, and the course is in good shape, so I think the guys can score.

It’s been nine years since we opened the course and that was the last time I played it. We’ve done quite a few courses since then, but my memories of the place come flooding back. I played the front nine earlier; I’ll play the back nine now and get myself reacquainted with things. It’s interesting to rediscover why I put certain things where I did because ten years ago I was a different person playing golf and designing. I would like to see what I have done good and what I’ve done bad.

When it comes to island courses, it’s the relaxed vibe. When I played in Fiji I had my wife and my daughter with me, and my wife is here this week. We’re close to South Africa; we’re only three and a half, four hours, so I feel like I’m heading home from here.