Mauritius: Asian Tour star Scott Hend of Australia will be among the star-studded names at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open which gets underway from May 12 to 15.

Hend, one of the most successful international players on the region’s premier Tour, will be joined by Asian Tour winners Chiragh Kumar of India, Danthai Boonma of Thailand and Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita.

“I am excited to play at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open again. Mauritius is one of the most beautiful places that I have visited. I enjoyed the challenging course last year and I am looking forward to playing the course at Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius,” said the 42-year-old Hend, who won his eighth Asian Tour title in Thailand in March.

Hend will be aiming to improve on his tied-fifth result last year as he hopes to break into the top-50 on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). He is currently ranked 85th in the world.

“Winning in Thailand last month was great and I would love to try and kick on now and get another win,” said the big-hitting Hend.

Ryan Dodds, Chairman of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open Organising Committee, said: “We look forward to Hend returning as one of our headline players at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. He put on a great performance last year and he is playing great golf currently. We have no doubt that he will be one of the top players to watch next month.”

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is the only tri-sanctioned tournament on the Asian, Sunshine and European Tours. It will be played for the first time at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita, designed by Asian Tour’s International Ambassador and honorary member, Ernie Els of South Africa.

The inaugural AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open was won by South African George Coetzee and Singapore’s Mardan was the best-placed Asian Tour player in third place last year.