SA golf star Jaco van Zyl to play at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open

28 April 2016. South African star golfer Jaco van Zyl is the latest addition to the star studded field that will battle it out at this year’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, which will be played from 12 – 15 May 2016, at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita.

Playing mostly on the Sunshine Tour, Van Zyl has won 13 Sunshine Tour titles, including a career high four in 2010. He earned a European Tour card at the Qualifying School in 2010, going on to enjoy a stellar first season on the European Tour, with five top-10 placings, and finished 50th on the Race to Dubai. Van Zyl earned a debut in the prestigious Open Championship in 2015 thanks to a fine performance in the Alstom Open de France.

“Jaco van Zyl is one of the most exciting golfers to watch at this year’s event, he had a stellar 2015 European Tour campaign that included two second place finishes at the Joburg Open and Turkish Airlines Open, and finished third at the French Open. We are delighted that he will be at the tournament and wish him all the best,” said Ryan Dodds, Chairman of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open Organising Committee.

Van Zyl joins an illustrious list of professional golfers who have also been confirmed to participate in this year’s tournament which carries a €1,000,000 prize purse. These include Australia’s Scott Hend, Jeev Milkha Singh from India, Haotong Li from China, Thai rising star Danthai Boonma, Frenchman Thomas Levet, and defending champion, George Coetzee.

Currently placed 59th on the Official World Golf Ranking, van Zyl started playing golf at the age of 11, and turned professional at 21 after winning the South African Amateur Championship in 2000, and went on to finish 18th in his rookie season on the Sunshine Tour. In 2009 he recorded the biggest win of his career at the Telkom PGA Championship, and went on to win twice more during the season to finish in 4th place on the Order of Merit. Van Zyl has consistently finished within the top 10 of the Sunshine Tour’s Order of Merit since 2009.

Off the golf course, van Zyl is also keen surfer and flies microlights. Like compatriot Charl Schwartzel, he has a passion for flying. He started hang-gliding five years ago, owns a microlight and hopes to gain his pilot’s licence one day.