Rasmus Hojgaard (Den) Fourth round 68 (-4) Total 269 (-19)
I’m loss for words. It’s amazing and I’m over the moon. This is a dream come true for me. I just kept telling myself to believe in yourself and trust the number. I did what I could and it was enough for me to win. I was obviously nervous, playing in my first play-off but I was in a situation where I had nothing to lose. So I was confident especially with my shots coming in. It was pretty cool to close out the 18th hole today. My approach shots were all very good there and I just managed to do what I had to do. It’s cool to win so early in my career and it’s something just very amazing and I’m looking forward to the next challenge. I’m going to celebrate this victory when I get home to my family and friends.

Antoine Rozner (Fra) Fourth round 69 (-3) Total 269 (-19)
Everything comes down to one playoff hole. I made some amazing birdies on the first two playoff holes. I have nothing to regret. I gave my best. Congratulations to Rasmus. He hit some amazing shots down the stretch. That bunker shot, I told my caddie right before that this can go in the stand or stay in the trap because I was trying to catch it so clean. But yeah it was probably one of the best bunker shots I’ve ever hit. All the hard work is paying off. It’s a very good result and I’m very happy.

Renato Paratore (Ita) Fourth round 67 (-5) Total 269 (-19)
I pulled my second shot too much to the left. It was not the best shot I made and it landed off the green and I knew I had no chance. I could have aimed more to the right. I played really solid all week and even though I didn’t win in the play-off, overall it has been a good week.

Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) Fourth round 65 (-7), Total 274 (-14)
I’m pleasantly surprised with my result this week. I played well today and I was really comfortable with my swing and the pace of play. I was playing with Mercel and he was very quick so I didn’t have to hurry that much too. I made several good putts and I’m happy with the week. I’m swinging much better and feeling much better. I did some swing changes before coming here. I went back to what I should do when I was playing my best golf and that helped. I hope to keep this going. I’ve got two more events left and I’m feeling good about the game.

Mauritius, December 7: France’s Antoine Rozner together with Belgium’s Thomas Detry and Scotland’s Calum Hill will head into the final round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open with a one-shot advantage after sharing the third round lead on Saturday.

A graduate of the European Challenge Tour, Rozner showed his promise in his rookie season on the main Tour by closing with a pair of birdies in his last two holes to sign for a six-under-par 66 along with a place atop the leaderboard.

Hill, who started the day with a one-shot lead on his own, mixed his card with two bogeys and six birdies for a three-day total of 16-under-par 200 at the Heritage Golf Club.

While it was not enough to give him the outright lead again, it was still a rewarding day as he showed great character by recovering well with a bogey on 16 to close with birdies on 17 and 18.

Asian Tour member Sihwan Kim of the United States trailed the leading trio by a single shot as he returned with a 67 to share fourth place with promising Danish youngster Rasmus Hojgaard.

China’s Wu Ashun emerged as the highest placed Asian after signing for a 68 to stay four shots off the pace in a share of 10^th place while India’s Jyoti Randhawa posted a 70 to lie in tied-35^th place, nine shots off the leaders.

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open was inaugurated in 2015 and was the first tournament to be tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Sunshine Tour and European Tour.

Did you know?

• Antoine Rozner graduated from the European Tour Qualifying School this year and is playing his rookie season.
• Thomas Detry has 13 top-10s from 84 European Tour events, with two coming in his last four starts. He is seeking his maiden win this week.
• Calum Hill has won twice and enjoyed three other top-10s in five starts on the European Challenge Tour before going on to secure his European Tour card this year.
• Wu Ashun finished tied-20^th in his AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open debut at the Heritage Golf Club in 2017.
• The Chinese played predominately on the Asian Tour and in Japan since he turned professional in 2007 before he started playing regularly on the European Tour following his win at the Volvo China Open in 2015.
• With that victory, Wu became the first Chinese golfer to win a European Tour title on home soil.
• Wu has since followed up with that victory with wins in Austria and The Netherlands which made him the first Chinese player to win three times on the European Tour.
• Jyoti Randhawa recently celebrated his career milestone on the Asian Tour when he teed up for his 300th event at the Panasonic Open India last month.
• He once reached a career high of 70th place on the Official World Golf Ranking in March 2008.
• Out of his eight Asian Tour victories, five of them have come from home. Randhawa has also captured the titles of five National Opens, with three Indian Opens, one Thailand Open and one Singapore Open.
• Randhawa enjoyed his best finish of 2019 when he finished tied-14th at the Thailand Open in November.

Antoine Rozner (Fra) Third round 66 (-6) Total 200 (-16)
I’m happy. I played really solid and I had a great front-nine again. Probably the best I’ve played all week so far. I played great on the back as well and I’ll take six-under anytime. I was lucky enough to play with Benjamin and he’s a relaxed guy. We can talk between shots and that helped me to stay relaxed too. Unfortunately, I’ll not be playing with him again tomorrow. But that’s just golf. I’m not going to lie but I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully get that win. It’s a packed leaderboard but a victory tomorrow would be a huge accomplishment. I need to shoot something really low and I got to keep playing the way I’ve been doing.

Calum Hill (Sco) Third round 68 (-4) Total 200 (-16)
It was nice to have a couple of birdies to finish off and sneak back into a tie for the lead. Happy with how it finished off. It was similar to my morning round yesterday, wasn’t much wind then either. The scoring was good out there if you played well. I hit a lot of nice shots to start off the back nine until the par five but couldn’t get my putts, needed to hit it six inches harder on every hole. Then on the par five – if you get your driver right it should be a birdie today or even better if I managed to drop it into the hazard. Got lucky, managed to whack it out and save par. Hit a few not spot-on iron shots after that which cost me a shot, but coming in with two good putts was nice. Eight under might do it. I could do with another one of those and I might be able to come in with a smile on my face.

Thomas Detry (Bel) Third round 67 (-5) Total 200 (-16)
I got off to a better start today compared to yesterday – two under after five. A great drive in nine, hit the green there and got it going. I made two silly mistakes. I think we misjudged the yardage on 12, we hit the wedge shot about 25 metres short. Don’t know what happened there. The 16th is a bit of a tricky green very firm. But very, very happy with the way I played today. We’ve had a few good breaks, took advantage of the birdie putts we had. Very pleased with the way I played. Ball striking wasn’t 100 percent on the first few holes, but I got some confidence and felt pretty good out there.

Very happy (to be one of the favourites). My first time here, a lot of people speak French, get a lot of Belgian people here, lots of crowds following. It’s nice to have that.I’m very exited and looking forward to tomorrow. I’ve been in this position a few times. Was in this position three weeks ago in Sun City at a big event. A few weeks before at the French Open gave myself a chance to win – Nico (Colsaerts) won there, which was great. I’ve got some experience in this domain so let’s just play our own game and have fun like we have the last three days. Sometimes you over think a few things instead of just letting it go. I think it’s all about keeping it simple. Just play like you have been playing in practice rounds. It’s easy to say, but I think that’s how you approach the fourth day.

Sihwan Kim (Usa) Third round 67 (-5), Total 201 (-15)
I played well today. Stayed patient and made some pretty good putts in the middle of my round which got me going. If there’s no wind like today, the scores are going to be low tomorrow and we’ll just have to see how the wind blows then. But whatever it is, you still got to go out there and play well. I’ve been bad off the tee the whole week but I putted really well. I got the speed right and that has been the key.

Wu Ashun (Chn) Third round 68 (-4), Total 204 (-12)
I was playing a domestic event last week and it was really cold back home in China. So it was a big change in weather and I was trying to adjust back to the tropical climate conditions here. The first two days were also all about getting familiar with the golf course again and today, I felt I managed to do well. I took advantage of my chances and I’m in a good position heading into the weekend. I’m not that far off the lead so anything can happen. My wife’s with me this week and her presence has kept me very relaxed too. It’s like a holiday feeling especially when we get to stay in a nice resort too.

Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) Third round 70 (-2), Total 209 (-7)
Today was a little patchy day as I was playing slowly and was being monitored and had to speed up play. I missed a few shots there but overall it’s still okay. I guess I need to play a little quicker now. I’m not used to playing fast in a two-ball. Just need to play faster than what I did today and I should be fine.

Mauritius, December 6: Asian Tour member Sihwan Kim of the United States battled through the heat and humidity to stay in close pursuit of Scotland’s Calum Hill who signed for a eight-under-par 64 to take the second round lead at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open on Friday.

South Africa’s Brandon Stone, who was one of the five players tied for the first round lead, also kept himself in the title race by returning with a 67 to trail Hill by one shot in second place with Belgium’s Thomas Detry and France’s Matthieu Pawon at the Heritage Golf Club. 

Kim matched his opening day’s effort of another 67  to give himself a chance of making his breakthrough on the Asian Tour where he first played on after graduating from Qualifying School in 2017.

Unlike his opening round where he traded six birdies and one eagle against a double-bogey and bogey, Kim kept a clean slate on his bogey-free card with five birdies to be among the four players bunched in tied-fifth place.

While Kim has only one top-10 finish in India to show for this season, the Korean-American is hopeful of finding success once he addresses his driving woes.

India’s Jyoti Randhawa and Abhijit Chadha, who signed for matching total of 139, were among the 72 players to progress into the weekend rounds where the cut was set at three-under-par

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open was inaugurated in 2015 and was the first tournament to be tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Sunshine Tour and European Tour.

Did you know?

• Sihwan Kim is making his eighth start on the Asian Tour this season. His best result so far is a tied-10th finish at the Hero Indian Open.
• Kim is a graduate of the 2017 Asian Tour Qualifying School. Straight after securing his card, he went on to claim two straight top-10 finishes at the Leopalace21 Myanmar Open and Bashundhara Bangladesh Open that year.
• The Korean-American finished in 55th place on the Order of Merit to retain his card for 2018. He is currently in 48th place on the money list.
• Calum Hill won twice and enjoyed three other top-10s in five starts on the European Challenge Tour before going on to secure his European Tour card this year.
• He finished 13th at the Alfred Dunhill Championship last week.
• Brandon Stone comes from a strong golfing background. His father, Kevin, is an experienced Sunshine Tour player and the national coach for the South African amateur junior team, while his grandfather, Sam, also played for his country.
• He enjoyed a stellar amateur career, particularly in the American collegiate ranks where he was named the 2013 NCAA Freshman of the Year while representing the University of Texas.
• Stone graduated from the Challenge Tour in 2015 and made his breakthrough on the European Tour with his win at the BMW South Africa Open the following year. He is now a three-time European Tour winner.
• Jyoti Randhawa recently celebrated his career milestone on the Asian Tour when he teed up for his 300th event at the Panasonic Open India last month.
• He once reached a career high of 70th place on the Official World Golf Ranking in March 2008.
• Out of his eight Asian Tour victories, five of them have come from home. Randhawa has also captured the titles of five National Opens, with three Indian Opens, one Thailand Open and one Singapore Open.
• Randhawa enjoyed his best finish of 2019 when he finished tied-14th at the Thailand Open in November. 
• Randhawa enjoyed a memorable year in 2004 when he won the season finale Volvo Masters of Asia and finished second on the Order of Merit with US$351,709.
  
  

Calum Hill (Sco) Second round 64 (-8), Total 132 (-12)
It’s been very warm. It’s hot and humid so you are sweating buckets for the whole round, but I seem to be getting used to it. You have to position it quite well here. There are a few holes where you’ve got to keep an eye out. One errant shot can cost you quite a lot. The greens have been immaculate, this course is in very good condition. It’s a pleasure to play on. The last couple of days the game has been nice. Managed to get the putter going well today, which added up to a good score. Last week was a slow start and I played better at the weekend. It’s just built on from there. I’m happy with that, especially to make a putt on the last hole to finish off a good round. I made a lot of long range putts – 20, 25 foot – probably made four of those. It would be good fun (to be in the final group), it would be an experience that I’ve never had before.

Brandon Stone (Rsa) Second round 67 (-5) Total 133 (-11)
I’m very happy with how things went today. I got off to a nice start this morning; a couple of birdie early which kind of settled the nerves a little bit. And then from there I just played great all day. Very low stress, always in play, gave myself a lot of opportunities and managed to convert a fair number of them and sitting 11-under-par going into the weekend is exactly where you want to be. Putting is an important component every week. I think that was the missing factor I had last week because I felt like I hit the ball as good last week as I am this week, but I just didn’t convert. It felt like your back was against the wall, whereas this week, I’m giving myself a lot of opportunities and managed to convert the majority of those and that’s why I see myself at the top of the leaderboard and not at the cut line like I was last week.

Sihwan Kim (Usa) Second round 67 (-5) Total 134 (-10)
I’m really happy. It was very hot out there and I had to stay focus with every shot. When I was in trouble, I ended up making a par and I managed to make some key putts coming in and made some birdies. It was so humid without the winds this morning and it kind of drains you out. I had to make sure I was hydrated. I’ve been putting well. I have a little trouble hitting off the tee but my putting makes up for it. If I can correct my tee shots, I should be okay. I’m going to have my lunch now and head to the beach!

Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) Second round 69 (-3) Total 139 (-5)
I hit my irons very well today unlike yesterday where I’ve been struggling. But overall it was a solid round although I wished I could have putted better where I missed a few birdie chances. But other than that, I’m pretty pleased. I know I can still shoot good numbers but my problem is to do it consistently for four rounds. I still have the much gas left in the tank but I have to be cleverer in the way I approach my game. My body cannot take so much of the workout anymore and I’m counting on my experience to give me that advantage.

Abhijit Chadha (Ind) Second round 70 (-2) Total 139 (-5)
I played well today and just had one really bad hole on number one where I made a seven. That actually hampered my score. I want to get to double digit and under par as fast as I can. I feel that when the wind picks up, it’s going to be challenging. So let’s see. But for tomorrow, I want to get off to a fast start and play a good round.

Hong Kong, December 6: Organisers of the Hong Kong Open have confirmed that the 61st edition of the tournament will take place at Hong Kong Golf Club from January 9-12, 2020. 

Sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Hong Kong Golf Association, the 120-player field will once again include a number of top international golfers who will compete for Official Golf World Ranking points and a US$ 1 million prize purse. The European Tour will continue to stage the tournament, which is Hong Kong’s longest standing professional sporting event and which will be televised to a global audience. 

Spectators attending the tournament, which had originally been scheduled to take place at the end of November, will continue to enjoy free access to Hong Kong Golf Club on Thursday and Friday, with under-21s benefiting from free entry throughout the week.

With the tournament set-up unchanged, event-goers will once again be able to enjoy four days of world-class action on the historic Composite Course at Fanling as well as a host of fun and family-friendly activities for fans of all ages in the Spectator Village.

William Doo, Jr., Captain of Hong Kong Golf Club, said: “After the disappointing postponement of last month’s championship, we’re delighted to be able to confirm that the 61st Hong Kong Open will be played in January. The early-year date helps ensure the participation of a number of leading international players, while the Composite Course remains in optimal condition.

“We’d like to thank the Asian Tour, the Hong Kong Golf Association, the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the European Tour and all the tournament sponsors and the many fans from Hong Kong and overseas. We look forward to welcoming everybody to the Club next month.”

Kenneth Lam, President of the Hong Kong Golf Association, added: “The decision to proceed with the 61st edition of the Hong Kong Open in the early new year underlines the commitment of the Hong Kong Golf Association and Hong Kong Golf Club to the ongoing development and promotion of the game in Hong Kong and the region. We look forward to welcoming the international golf community back to Hong Kong in January and to showcasing the depth of homegrown talent competing in the tournament.”

Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Asian Tour said: “We are pleased to announce the 61st Hong Kong Open will now be the curtain raiser for our 2020 season. As our season opening event, there will be an undoubtedly strong Asian Tour field with players eager to get their seasons off to a fast start. 

“Hong Kong Golf Club has always been one of the favourite stops on the Asian Tour so last month’s postponement was received with mixed emotions from our membership. We look forward to competing again on the storied fairways of Hong Kong Golf Club in cool conditions in January and expect a highly competitive tournament as always which will set the stage for what is going to be yet another exciting 2020 season.”

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “While we are unable to sanction this edition of the Hong Kong Open due to other tournament commitments, we are delighted to retain an integral role in staging one of Hong Kong’s best-loved sporting events and we very much look forward to returning next November when the 62nd Hong Kong Open will kick off our 2021 European Tour season.”

Star players confirmed to play in the 61st edition of the Hong Kong Open will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Hong Kong Open is hosted by Hong Kong Golf Club. Tickets are available to purchase via Ticketflap – https://www.ticketflap.com/thehongkongopen. Tickets purchased for the original event from 29 November to 1 December 2019 remain valid and will grant access to the rescheduled tournament in January.

The tournament is free to attend on Thursday 9th and Friday 10th January for all. Under 21s go free for all four tournament days.  For more information see www.thehongkongopen.com

The Hong Kong Open has also been recognized as an “M” Mark event to help enhance the image of Hong Kong. “M” Mark is awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, symbolizing an intense, spectacular and signature event in the territory sports calendar.

Ends.