John Parry is excited to take on Heritage La Réserve Golf Links for the first time as he defends his AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open title.
Twelve months ago, Parry overturned a five‑shot deficit at Mont Choisy Le Golf to claim his first DP World Tour victory in 14 years and win the Opening Swing, closing with a brilliant 64 to finish two clear at 14 under par.
It was a win which capped a remarkable rise back to the DP World Tour.
Having won three HotelPlanner Tour victories in 2024 to earn automatic promotion back to the DP World Tour, he then carried that momentum into his win in Mauritius and went on to add two runner‑up finishes and four more top tens, ending the season 11th on the Race to Dubai and earning dual membership on the PGA TOUR for 2026.
Now he returns to the island nation as defending champion, albeit to a different venue, which is something of a new experience for him.
His previous DP World Tour win came at the 2010 Vivendi Open, which was only played for one year. He wasn't there to defend any of his four HotelPlanner Tour victories (2009 ALLIANZ Golf Open du Grand Tousoule, 2024 Dehli Challenge, 2024 Blot de Bretagne, 2024 Italian Challenge Open) either after securing promotion, nor his 2012 DP World Tour Q-School Final Qualifying victory.
"I'm really excited," Parry told the DP World Tour.
"It’s not something I’ve had the opportunity to do before. So it’s a new experience, but something I'm really looking forward to."
Adding to that challenge is a difference in venue, from his victory at Mont Choisy Le Golf to Heritage La Réserve Golf Links
"It looks fantastic," Parry said of his first impressions of the venue.
"I’ve heard really good things. I can see the rough's very heavy.
"Obviously, I’m guessing it blows a lot here and obviously the 18th green here is quite slopey.
"So, it’ll be a challenge obviously to keep it out of the long stuff...
"I think the big thing is, it looks like a second-shot golf course, hitting it in the right areas, when you can attack things, and when you can't and hitting the right levels. So that's going to be a challenge, but certainly something I'm looking forward to."
The Englishman arrives in Mauritius on the back of a strong start to the season, with a tie for 18th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge followed by a top‑ten finish at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
That form, combined with a course exposed to plenty of wind, has him optimistic about his chances.
"I've obviously had a top 10 last week," he added. "So I'm reasonably happy, and I think there's an element if you’re playing well and it’s a challenging, windy course, it might play into your hands a little bit.
"Being from England, it's usually colder wind, but at least we're used to the wind, so that might be a sort of benefit for me as well."
