Shubhankar finishes 32nd in Mauritius Open; Schaper wins title in play-off

Shubhankar Sharma had a bunch of birdies and an eagle on the final day of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, but gave away a bunch of bogeys while carding a 3-under 69 to finish tied 32nd. He totalled 5-under with cards of 74-69-71-69 in the tournament. South African Jayden Schaper produced an electric finish with a chip-in eagle in the second play-off hole to grab his second title in as many starts beating American Ryan Gerard.

Starting on the 10th at the challenging La Reserve Links, which was hosting the event for the second time, Shubhankar opened with a birdie but gave back the shot on the next hole. He then had a fine run of birdie-eagle-birdie to show signs of a good finish. However, a bogey on Par-5 15th spoiled the momentum. He birdied the 18th but bogeyed the fourth and then after another birdie on the sixth, he had a double bogey on the Par-3 seventh.

A birdie on the eighth was a consolation. “My game is coming around, but this week I just did not hit well off the tee. Every time things started moving my way, I gave away some shots. But still I feel things are slowly falling into place,” Shubhankar said. Sharma is now hoping to get into some of the events in the Middle East, including the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Bahrain.

Schaper and Gerard were tied at 22-under after four days, with both playing amazing golf to tame the challenging La Reserve Golf Links over the final two rounds. Schaper shot 64-64, while Gerard had 63-66 over the final two rounds.

In the play-off both parred the 18th the first time around, and then on the second trip, Schaper suddenly ended the battle with a chip-in for eagle, leaving Gerard stunned and without an answer. Through the day Schaper was never found wanting when it came to great golf shots, but after a mind-boggling win, he was almost short on words.

“I don’t even know what to say. That’s just such an insane way to finish a tournament,” he said, after hugging his mother. For Schaper, it was a second win in as many weeks and his last three results have been 2nd-1st-1st First as he gets his 2026 DP World Tour season to a brilliant start.

Earlier, the duo broke away from a pack that had seemed tightly bunched to make it a near match play. Schaper, starting the final day two behind overnight leaders Gerard and Casey Jarvis, produced a birdie-birdie-eagle run from the third to the fifth. He turned in 4-under but behind him Gerard, too, was 4-under for the front nine.

Schaper’s fast start with back-to-back birdies from long range at the third and fourth set the tone and two great shots on the fifth gave him a five-foot putt for an eagle and he grabbed it to join the lead on 18 under. But then Gerard produced his own magic to move ahead yet again. Schaper made a couple of important par saves to keep his card clean but Gerard produced his own magic with four front nine birdies.

That meant Schaper trailed by two before reducing the deficit to one with a birdie at the 11th. On the back nine, as the others like Jarvis (71 and Alexander Levy (73) fell off, the 24-year-old Schaper birdied the 11th and Gerard the 12th. It still kept Gerard two ahead, before Schaper produced back-to-back birdies on the 15th and the 16th to join Gerard at 21-under.

Schaper did not stop there. Another birdie on the 18th meant Gerard also needed a birdie to force a play-off. Gerard produced a brilliant second shot and went on to birdie the 18th making a tricky up and down from a difficult position. In the ensuing play-off, both parred the first time before Schaper produced a block-buster eagle to seal his second win.