Korean sensation Jeunghun Wang became the youngest player in European Tour history to win consecutive events, after coming from behind to claim the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open a week after making his breakthrough in Morocco.
The 20 year old was high on confidence after beating Nacho Elvira in a play-off for the Trophée Hassan II title, and he capitalised on Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman’s late collapse by birdieing the last to win by one shot at Four Seasons Golf Club Anahita.
Siddikur had a three-shot lead on the 16th tee, but double-bogeyed that hole and dropped another shot at the par three 17th to head up the last level with Wang. Both players hit their second shots into the par five right of the green, and it was Wang who got up and down for a crucial birdie to finish on six under par.
They were the only players to end the event in red figures, as strong winds made for tricky conditions on the Mauritian east coast, with Nicolas Colsaerts and Estanislao Goya sharing third place on level par.
“I can’t believe that I’ve won two weeks in a row,” said Wang. “I wasn’t even thinking about winning this week until the 16th. I missed a lot of putts, so I thought I didn’t have any chance. I hit my second shot into the 18th well, but it just went off the green. I was just trying to make par, but I hit the bunker shot close and gave myself an easy putt for a birdie. It was fantastic. I hope I can win three in a row, but next week is a really big tournament, and it’s my first time in Ireland, so I’m not sure. I’ll be trying my best.”
Rahman took some consolation from his runner-up finish, after coming into the event on the back of a bad run. He said: “Before this week I was really struggling with my golf, so I’m really happy to finish second. It was all good until the 16th. I don’t really know what happened. I went out of bounds with the first shot. I gave my best, but it just wasn’t my day. I was trying to hole that chip on the last for eagle. It was a good chip, but the putt for birdie wasn’t good.”