Staff WriterIf you’re going to win a tournament in paradise, you may as well do it with a flourish — and Jayden Schaper did exactly that at La Réserve Golf Links, producing the sort of play-off drama that makes you look for the remote just to rewind it.
The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open ended with Schaper holing out for eagle at the par-5 18th on the second extra hole, a finish as sharp as the sea breeze and twice as memorable.
For the players, though, the story of the week wasn’t only the trophy lift. It was the venue. La Réserve Golf Links, recently crowned the No.1 course in the Indian Ocean, put on the kind of stern-but-fair examination links golf is supposed to provide: ask the right questions, punish the lazy answer, reward the brave one.
Schaper, coming off back-to-back DP World Tour victories, sounded like a man who’d found a place he’d happily circle on the calendar every year — not just for the win, but for the way the course makes you think.
[Jayden Schaper]: “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.”
That line about “smart” golf is the tell. La Réserve Golf Links isn’t trying to trick you with gimmicks. It leans into an older idea — golf as a contest between your judgment and your ego — then gives it a contemporary stage: wide views, exposed holes, and the kind of wind that doesn’t care what you shot yesterday.
The first-tee moment players keep talking about
DP World Tour winner and Heritage Resorts & Golf ambassador Nicolas Colsaerts nailed the sensation of arrival: that split second on the opening tee when you realise you’re not just playing a course, you’re stepping into a scene.
[Nicolas Colsaerts]: “When you stand on the first tee and see the Indian Ocean and the colours, it’s a memory that stays with you. Anyone that walks the fairways here, it’s really the first thing that comes to mind.”
There’s a reason that resonates. Great venues don’t only test swings; they fix moments in your head. La Réserve Golf Links appears to have that rare ability to make professionals — people who have seen every flavour of “nice” — stop and actually notice where they are.
“Not bland” is high praise on tour
By the time a touring pro calls a venue “not bland”, you can treat it like a five-star review. 2026 PGA Tour player Daniel Brown didn’t bother with faint praise; he went straight to the point.
[Daniel Brown]: “I absolutely love it here. A lot of venues on tour can be bland, but this one is certainly not! La Réserve Golf Links is amazing, and Mauritius is one of my favourites”
And if you want the cleanest summary of what the course asks of you, Marcel Siem offered it in one neat sentence — the sort you can picture on a clubhouse wall.
[Marcel Siem]: “La Réserve is a true test of golf. It’s fantastic.”
Condition, hosting standards, and a week that delivered
Tournament director Miguel Vidaor said the feedback from the field was emphatic — not just about the layout, but the overall operation: course condition, facilities, and how the event was hosted.
“Heritage Resorts & Golf proved to be an excellent host venue for the 2025 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, and the feedback from the players has been overwhelmingly positive. La Réserve Golf Links was in pristine condition, and the facilities across the resort are first class. Our thanks go to everyone associated with the club for a fantastic week.”
That matters because reputation is built the old-fashioned way in pro golf: players talk, caddies talk, agents talk — and the calendar remembers who delivered.
Accolades: the momentum behind the moment
The tournament arrived on the back of a tidy run of recognition for the wider resort: the links layout being crowned Mauritius’ No.1 course by Top 100 Golf Courses, plus a double at the World Golf Awards that recognised the DP World Tour-hosting course as the Indian Ocean’s best and named Heritage Le Telfair Golf & Wellness Resort as World’s Best Golf Hotel.
Call it a hat-trick, call it a hot streak — either way, La Réserve Golf Links is building something modern golf venues crave: credibility with the people who play for a living.
For more information on Heritage Golf Club, visit: https://heritagegolfclub.mu/ and for Heritage Resorts & Golf, visit: https://heritageresorts.mu/
