Rasmus Højgaard won a play-off at the third extra hole to claim the AfrAsia Bank Open and become the third youngest winner on the European Tour. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

RASMUS Højgaard became the third-youngest winner in European Tour history with a dramatic play-off triumph at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

The 18-year-old Dane birdied the 72nd hole to get to 19-under alongside Italian Renato Paratore and Frenchman Antoine Rozner as the event went to a play-off for the third time in as many stagings at Heritage Golf Club.

Højgaard missed a 12-foot eagle putt for the title on the first trip back up the par five 18^th hole but – after halving the hole in birdies with Rozner at the second attempt – made a three from similar range at the third time of asking to take the title.

Rasmus Højgaard, who was showered with Champagne on the 18th green, said: “I’m lost 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 18^th hole.

“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.”

At 18 years and 271 days old, only Italian Matteo Manassero – who won twice as a 17-year-old – and New Zealander Danny Lee have won on the European Tour at a younger age.

Højgaard came to prominence in 2018 when Denmark won the Eisenhower Trophy at the World Amateur Team Championship, playing alongside identical twin Nicolai and John Axelsen.

The Rasmus brothers were also in the European team at the 2018 Junior Ryder Cup.

Nicolai finished second to Sergio Garcia at last season’s KLM Open but after becoming the first player born in the 21st century to graduate from the Qualifying School, Rasmus is now a European Tour winner in just his fifth event.

That makes him the fastest Dane to a European Tour win, beating 15-time winner Thomas Bjorn – the winning 2018 Ryder Cup captain, whose maiden victory came after 24 events.

Renato Paratore – whose sole win came in the 2017 Nordea Masters having won his card at European Tour Qualifying School as a 17-year-old – said: “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,” added 22-year-old Paratore.

“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.”

Belgium’s Thomas Detry, Scotland’s Grant Forrest, Benjamin Hebert, from France and South African Louis de Jager finished one shot behind the leading trio on 18-under.

Another Frenchman – Robin Sciot-Siegrest – who graduated via the top 15 on the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca rankings was one shot further back in solo eighth position.

Julien Guerrier was the fourth Frenchmen inside the top 10 at 16-under, alongside South African Oliver Bekker, American Sihwan Kim, and Scotland’s Connor Syme.

Antoine Rozner, who had back-to-back wins on the Challenge Tour in May, and was looking good for his own breakthrough victory on the back nine, said: “Everything comes down to one play-off hole.”

“I made some amazing birdies on the first two play-off holes. I have nothing to regret. I gave my best.

“Congratulations to Rasmus. He hit some amazing shots down the stretch.”

•For final scores from the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, click here.

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Rookie Rasmus Højgaard who fired an excellent 66 to share a five-way lead after the first round of AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at Bel Hombre. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FIVE players including Danish rookie Rasmus Højgaard, fired opening 66s to share the lead at the top of a congested leaderboard after the first round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

Rasmus, who played in last year’s Junior Ryder Cup with his twin brother Nicolai, was joined by French duo Benjamin Hebert and Romain Langasque, Rolex Series winner Brandon Stone and Scotland’s Grant Forrest.

The island paradise is hosting players from the European, Asian and Sunshine Tours in the tri-sanctioned event, and the leading quintet took advantage of good conditions to get to six-under par.

A further nine players are in a share for second just a shot further back, with 77 players under par and within five shots of the lead.

Højgaard, who finished 18th on the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca before finishing fifth at last month’s European Tour Qualifying School to earn his card, said: “It was great, I played well and gave myself a lot of chances.

“Conditions are very good. It’s a course where if you are playing well you can see a lot of chances. I managed to take them today.

“I had a full season on the Challenge Tour, which gave me a lot of confidence in what I am doing. I just need to believe in myself.

“It’s paying off right now and hopefully it will pay off in the long run as well.

“Rookie of the year would be very nice, but it will definitely take some good results to get that. I’ll just try to play as well as I can and see where I end up,” Rasmus Højgaard revealed when discussing his goals for 2020.

Højgaard made his first European Tour cut at last week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship at South Africa’s Leopard Creek, and the 18-year-old carried that momentum forward with a bogey-free effort to sit alongside Hebert in the early lead.

Rasmus Højgaard may be playing his first season on the European Tour but the family name has been on golfing lips since 2018 – when he and his identical twin combined with John Axelsen to win the Eisenhower Trophy for Denmark.

Romain Langasque won the Amateur Championship four years ago and is another player tipped for the very top.

After finishing 24th on the 2019 Race to Dubai Langasque is looking to get off to a good start to 2020.

Langasque, who finished third at Bel Hombre two years ago, said: “It was pretty solid all day.

“It was the kind of round I was looking for to start the tournament, so I’m pretty happy.

“I love this place, I feel great, but loving the place and playing well is not the same thing.

“I played well here two years ago and I think this is a course that fits my game really well. I’ll just stay focused on doing my own thing and it worked well today.”

Fellow Frenchman Hebert is also looking for his first win on the European Tour after picking up six titles on the Challenge Tour – three in 2011 and three more in 2014 since his first season in 2009.

The 32-year-old, who has played eight seasons on the European Tour, said: “It’s always nice to start a tournament in this way.

“I enjoy the course. It was a good round of golf and it was pretty fun out there.

“The wind was quiet this morning, a little bit different direction than usual.

“But then it turned and started to blow. The course is in great condition anyway so, if you find a good way to manage the wind it is very scoreable.”

Trio fought windier conditions at Bel Hombre

With increased winds in the afternoon, it looked like Højgaard and Hebert may not be caught. But Forrest, Langasque and Stone played beautifully to reach the summit.

Stone, who won the Scottish Open in 2018 to claim the biggest prize of his career with that Rolex Series title thanks to a final round 60 at Gullane, said: “It got a little bit toasty, a little bit breezy, trickypin location here and there but overall, I’m happy with the round.

“Tee to green, I think I was decent. I hit the irons quite nicely, some really good iron shots earlier on in the round and towards the end there.

“I think we’ve had the best end of the year with these two events,” added Stone, who is looking for a fourth European Tour win since graduating from the Challenge Tour in 2015.

“Woke up to a beautiful island’s summer morning, took a walk on the beach with the wife, and after that I had to come and do a little bit of work and come and shoot a 66.”

Scot Grant Forrest who is in his second season on Tour after graduating from the Challenge Tour in 2018, said: “I made a long putt on my first hole – probably 45, 50 feet, so that’s always a good way to start the round.

“The game is getting there. We’ve done a lot of work over the past few months and it’s been a bit of a struggle on the golf course but we’re starting to see signs now.

Forrest, who played in the 2015 Walker Cup against the USA at Royal Lytham, added: “I had a great start to the tournament last week as well.

“It’s been encouraging the last little while and things are falling into place for the coming season,” said the 26-year-old from Craigielaw Golf Club, who finished 94th on the 2019 Race to Dubai.

The quintet sit a shot ahead of South Africans Jaco Ahlers, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Keith Horne and Zander Lombard, French duo Matthieu Pavon and Antoine Rozner, Belgian Thomas Detry, American Sihwan Kim and Portugal’s Ricardo Santos.

•For live scoring from the second round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open click here.

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South African George Coetzee tied for the lead in the Frenh Open with Ryan Fox after they both shot a six-under par 65. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

GEORGE Coetzee and Ryan Fox opened up a one-shot lead at the top of a congested leaderboard after the first round of the Amundi Open de France.

South African Coetzee fired his lowest opening round of the season to set the target at six-under par with his round of 65.

The four-time Euorpean Tour winner said: “It was almost perfect. Played really well. Just dropped one on 17, but I can’t complain.

“It’s nice to be in the mix again. It’s been kind of a hard, long year, but it feels like the game is coming along nicely,” added Coetzee, whose last win came in Tshwane Open, in March last year.

“ I think you find which holes you can attack when you get to the green. There’s no real aggressive game plan on this golf course.

“Just keep the ball in play and give yourself opportunities, and there’s obviously a couple of holes where you’ve got to be careful,” added Coetzee, who has won the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit three times in the last four years.

Fox matched Coetzee in the afternoon as the New Zealander also carded seven birdies and a single bogey to join him at the summit.

“I’m pretty happy,” said Fox. “This is a golf course that can kick you pretty quickly. I played really solid today. Holed some putts.

“I played those tough holes, that closing stretch, really well. I could have potentially grabbed a couple more on those last four, which is always a bonus – but very happy to walk away with a 65 around here.

“You’ve got to drive it really well. For the most part I did a really good job of keeping it in play,” said Fox, whose sole Euorpean Tour win came in the ISPS Handa World Super 6 in Perth, in Feburary.

“A couple holes I hit poor tee shots and I managed to scramble and make pars from there, which is nice,” Fox added. “But yeah, you just keep yourself out of trouble.”

Benjamin Hebert – currently the leading French player on the Race to Dubai – delighted the home fans at Le Golf National with a birdie on the last to sit one shot off the lead alongside American Kurt Kitayama and Scotland’s Richie Ramsay.

Benjamin Hebert said: “I putted very well today. I’ve worked on my putting since the start of the week.

“I had a private lesson with David Orr, who is a big putting expert. We changed some stuff and it works very well. So, I’m pretty happy.

“I feel good support from the French public. We have only one tournament a year, so it’s very important for us to represent this week.”

Ramsay has been fighting issues over spending time away from his young daugher over the past couple of seasons – the 35-year-old Scot only secured his card in the last event of 2018, and has spoken about possibly retiring at 40, or at least taking a whole year out of the game.

“It’s obviously a fantastic golf course. A little bit different this year. A bit colder, a bit softer, so the course is playing quite long,” said Ramsay whose best result of the season is tied for sixth in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

“It’s a joy to play a golf course like this, because it just tests the whole part of your game and mentally, obviously there’s a lot of water out there, so you have to be very committed to your shots,” Ramsay added.

Victor Perez became the latest player from France to win on the European Tour when he took the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship title last month.

And the Dundee-based Frenchman is just two shots off the lead at four under, alongside South African trio Darren Fichardt, Jaco Van Zyl and Justin Walters, plus Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts, Denmark’s Nicolai Hogaard and Kalle Samooja, from Finland.

•For live scoring in the French Open click here.

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Alex Noren has fond memories of Le Golf National after holing a monster putt to get in the play-off last year – and then hole a monster putt in the Ryder Cup singles three months later. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

ALEX Noren returns to a venue full of incredible memories as he aims to defend his Amundi Open de France title this week.

The Swede claimed a one-shot win at Paris’ Le Golf National in July last year.

And more glory was to follow three months later as he made a memorable Ryder Cup debut, which included one of the greatest moments of his career.

With team victory assured and the celebrations going on around him, Noren holed a monster putt for a birdie on the last to beat Bryson DeChambeau one-up to put the gloss on a 17½-10½ triumph for Europe.

Noren said: “It was an amazing week last year. I just made the cut and then had a great weekend.

“I didn’t think I was even going to get into a play-off with the score I had, I thought I had to make the putt on the last, that long putt.

“I just missed it, but then it was pretty tough coming in for the rest of the guys and I ended up winning. I felt very fortunate.

“The putt on 18 at the Ryder Cup was amazing, maybe the best moment of my golfing career.

“I know the whole match was over, but my game was still going and the coaches and captains had told us to keep going until the end of every match.

“It just felt great to finish my game like that and it ended up being the finish of the whole match.”

The 10-time European Tour winner is joined in the field this week by double Major champion Martin Kaymer.

The former World No. 1 has played in every edition of this event since turning professional, and counts the 2009 Open de France among his 11 European Tour titles.

“I think it’s one of the best golf courses that we play on the European Tour,” said the 2010 USPGA and 2015 US Open Champion.

“We used to play on a different date for the last 12 years or so that I have been here, so this week it will be a little different.

“My win in 2009 was a very enjoyable week in many ways. I was very in control of my game.

The German, who broke through with his first European Challenge Tour win back in 2006, said: “I had so much support during that week and I was playing really well.

“The week after I also won in Loch Lomond at the Scottish Open, so it was a really nice time for me.

“It was always one of those tournaments that you would like to win in your career, and fortunately I could win it fairly early in my career.”

Noren and Kaymer will face a strong local challenge around the famously testing Albatros Course this week, with the three in-form Frenchmen inside the top 25 of the Race to Dubai Rankings.

They are Benjamin Hebert, Victor Perez – the recent winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links – and former Amateur Champion Romain Langasque – all seeking to add gloss to impressive seasons with victory on home soil.

•To follow live scoring at Le Paris National click here

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Benjamin Hebert is the highest Frenchman in the field for the French Open at Le Paris National this week. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

BENJAMIN Hebert is currently the top ranked French player on the Race to Dubai, and he is hoping a maiden European Tour win on home soil at this week’s Amundi French Open can help him break into the top 10 – or better.

The 32-year-old has two second place finishes this season, at the Volvo China Open and the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.

Hebert said: “It’s my best season so far. I have two second places, but I think I could have been a little bit better.

“Still chasing the first win, but I’ll try to improve every part of my game and I think it could be soon.

“I’m in a good position on the Race to Dubai. Like with my game, I will try to improve this placing and maybe get into the top ten or better.

“This is a very important end of the season coming up, and it’s going to be good,” Hebert added.

“It’s always special to play on home soil, with so many home fans watching. It’s always interesting to learn how to manage this different pressure.

“We’re playing on a great golf course and I just try to enjoy it,” added Hebert, who currently sits in 17^th place on the Race to Dubai rankings as the season enters the final stretch.

He is joined at Le Golf National for continental Europe’s oldest national open by a host of his compatriots, including one man who has already tasted victory this season – Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner Victor Perez.

The European Challenge Tour graduate will be under a different kind of pressure this week after making his debut in the event last season.

But Perez, who currently lives in Dundee where his girlfriend is studying at the Scottish university, is hoping to keep relaxed and treat the week like any other tournament.

Perez said: “Being a Frenchman it’s important to be here and play in front of the home fans. A lot of French players are having a good season and really looking forward to the tournament.

“Winning a couple of weeks ago means there is a little bit of attention on me, so I think it’s important to come out and play in front of home fans and hopefully have a good week.

“You want to try to enjoy it as much as possible. It’s very easy to put extra pressure on yourself to perform.

“But also you can think about it the other way and really enjoy the fact the fans are here to cheer for you,” Perez added.

“Then it’s just about having a blast and free-wheeling it, I think that’s a better attitude than feeling the extra pressure.”

Romain Langasque – the winner of the 2016 Amateur Championship at Carnoustie – is also aiming to cap off a fine season with victory in front of home crowds at the Amundi Open de France, which is often described as an inland links, with its long grasses and tightly mown, narrow fairways.

Langasque has been edging towards his first European Tour win with three top three finishes.

The 2016 Spanish Amateur Champion, who beat Hampshire’s Scott Gregory in the final, is relishing the challenge posed by the famously testing Albatros Course, which hosted Europe’s victory over the United States in the 2018 Ryder Cup.

Langasque said: “It’s always important to play in front of the French crowd.

“I know this course very well and I think it’s one of the best on the European Tour.

“My first time playing my home open was tough, but now I’m better prepared, and I enjoy it so much, sharing these moments with my family and friends.

“With the weather as well this week I think it will be a tough test again. The 18th is a tough tee shot under pressure because of the bank on the right and the water on the left.

“The second shot is quite tough because of the pressure, you see a lot of water,” added Langasque.

“It’s one of the best finishing holes on Tour and I hope to have my chance down there on Sunday.”

Two Frenchmen have claimed the Open de France at the Ryder Cup venue – Thomas Levet in 2011, and Jean-Francois Remesy, who won back-to-back 14 years ago. Both are now playing on the Staysure Seniors Tour.

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Austrian Bernd Wiesberger claimed his second victory of the year – and the first Rolex Series title of his carrer – after beating Frenchman Benjamin Hebert in a play-off at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

BERND Wiesberger secured his first Rolex Series title after defeating France’s Benjamin Hebert in a thrilling play-off at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.

The Austrian, who was runner-up at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open just seven days ago, was not to be denied for a second consecutive week as he triumphed over Hebert with a par on the third extra hole at The Renaissance Club, at North Berwick.

The 33-year-old held a two-stroke lead after 54 holes, but Hebert set the clubhouse target on 22-under par after a stunning nine-under round of 62. Wiesberger then joined him on that total after his round of 69.

The pair parred the first two play-off holes, but Wiesberger tapped in for par from four feet to win his second title of the season after Made in Denmark in May – and moved to the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings.

A delighted Wiesberger, who picked up a cheque for €1,035,099, the biggest of his career which has seen him earn nearly €12million, said: “I knew it wasn’t going to come easy for me. I had a great, great warm-up this morning, flushing the ball. It just got a little tough out there for me.

“I just dug in there. Obviously I would have loved to seal it off with a couple of pars coming in, but sometimes it just tests you.

“A great week from Benjamin. He could have just snatched it off me on the first two holes, as well, and just very grateful for how it turned out for us this week.

“I wasn’t in this tournament eight days ago. You know, I had a great week in Ireland and sealed my spot, and what a week this is. Just take a lot of confidence out of the last two weeks into the final major this year.

“I’ve always enjoyed coming to the links, Scottish links, and I’ve had nice success here in Scotland and it’s just really, really nice to be able to stand here with the trophy at the end of the day.

“It was a long day, but somehow managed,” added Wiesberger, who suffered a long-term wrist injury last year that forced him to miss seven months of the season.

There was a consolation prize for Hebert, who earned his place at this week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

Hebert said: “I was looking for The Open spot, for sure I was chasing this spot, so I’m happy, first.

“I’m very happy as next week will be my first Major Championship as a professional. It was a goal for me actually this season to play in a Major.

“I played in The Open in 2008 but I was an amateur. It was a long time ago.”

Hebert, who earned an exemption at Royal Birkdale as the reigning European Amateur Champion, will be joined in Northern Ireland by Italian Nino Bertasio and Middlesex’s Andrew Johnston, who finished in a share of fourth place.

Beef, who has spoken about his mental health issues that have affected his game over the past year, carded the lowest round of his European Tour career and jumped up 34 places on the leaderboard.

With two holes to play, the Londoner who became the galleries’ favourite at the 2016 Open at Royal Troon, needed two birides to card just the second 59 in Euorpean Tour history, but finished with a bogey after shaving the hole from 15 feet on the 17th.

That left the former Middlesex amateur, who was a member at Wentworth before turning pro as well as his home course North Middlesex, in a share of top spot until Wiesberger and Herbert pulled clear of the chasing pack.

Frenchman Romain Langasque – who won the 2015 Amateur Champinship at Carnoustie, finished third on 20-under – one stroke ahead of Bertasio, Johnston, 2016 Open Champion Henrik Stenson, Italy’s Andrea Pavan and American Andrew Putnam.

Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello, South African George Coetzee, Welshman Jamie Donaldson, England’s Lee Slattery and American Justin Thomas finished on 18-under.

•THERE was a historic moment earlier in the day as Ireland’s Brendan Lawlor won the inaugural EDGA Scottish Open, a new 36-hole tournament for players with disability, which saw 10 players tackle the same set up at The Renaissance Club as the European Tour field.

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