Jayden Schaper arrived for this week’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open still revelling in his first DP World Tour victory and looking to achieve something only Louis Oosthuizen has managed to do in this event and on the La Réserve Golf Links that will host it.
A win for Schaper this week will give him the same back-to-back triumph that Oosthuizen achieved in 2023, when he followed up his own Alfred Dunhill Championship victory with the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open trophy on a La Réserve Golf Links course he co-designed with Peter Matkovich.
It’s an even greater possibility given Schaper’s record in Mauritius. In the three AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Opens he’s played, Schaper hasn’t finished worse than 13th. And he finished sixth the last time the tournament was played here at La Réserve Golf Links in 2023.
It would be another remarkable triumph for the young star, who tees off in Thursday’s first round as the leader in the Race to Dubai rankings, the leader of the DP World Tour’s Opening Swing standings, the leader on the Sunshine Tour’s Courier Guy Order of Merit, and having climbed into the top 100 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
Most importantly, though, he’s back on the island he loves and has been coming to for family holidays and golf since he was a boy.
“The last two weeks have been incredible, and being here after that is pretty cool,” Schaper said on Tuesday. “I just love Mauritius. I love the resorts, the ocean, the golf courses. What I like about this design is that it’s familiar.
My home course is also a Peter Matkovich design, and his designs are focused on being smart and not just bombing it. They’re fun to play. There are always a couple of drivable par fours in his designs, which are also fun.”
Another golfer hunting his own bit of tournament history is defending champion John Parry.
The Englishman is looking to become the first golfer to successfully defend this title.
“I’m really excited. Defending a title is not something I’ve had the opportunity to do before so it’s a new experience which I’m really looking forward to.
"I absolutely love it in Mauritius. I have my wife with me as well. The golf course looks fantastic. I can see the rough is heavy and I’m guessing it blows a lot here. It looks like a very second-shot golf course and it’s all about hitting it in the right areas and the right levels on the greens.
"There’s a feeling that if you’re playing well and it’s a windy course like this, it might play into your hands a little bit. And being from England, I’m fairly used to a bit of wind as well. So I’m excited,” he said.