Louis Oosthuizen to tackle Liverpool players in FootGolf

Louis Oosthuizen may have one of the best swings in golf, but at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at the end of this month his football skills will also be tested when he and three fellow professionals take on four former legends of Liverpool Football Club in a game of FootGolf.

The South African will join a team of four professional golfers, also including countryman George Coetzee, who will play a game of FootGolf at The Heritage Golf Club with Liverpool’s Ian Rush, Gary McAllister, Vladimir Smicer and Patrik Berger on the Monday in the week of the tournament.

Oosthuizen is making his debut in this €1 million tournament, which will be played at The Heritage Golf Club from 30 November to 3 December and which is tri-sanctioned by the European Tour, Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour.

The Heritage Golf Club is home to Mauritius’s first FootGolf circuit. Oosthuizen and his fellow pros will take on the Liverpool legends over the nine-hole FootGolf course using a size 5 football. The aim is exactly the same as golf – get the ball into the hole in the least amount of shots (or kicks). The golf pros will be delighted to know that the hole is significantly larger, as in 53 centimetres wide. And the Liverpool players are equally excited about the challenge.

“It’s going to be great being back in Mauritius and to bring more of my fellow Liverpool players to experience the hospitality of the country, the passion of the fans and the great golf course at Heritage Resorts,” said Rush.

“I’ve heard a lot about Mauritius and I can’t wait to experience what I’ve been told about the country,” added McAllister.

“I was there last year on holiday with my family. It’s a beautiful place,” said Smicer.

And Berger is equally excited about the experience. “I cannot wait to meet the fans and play golf in Mauritius”.

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open fans will also have the opportunity to test their FootGolf skills against the best. Tournament sponsor Emtel is running a competition whereby four fans can win their place on a team to play against the professionals.

The FootGolf will be the lead-in to what will be the biggest field in the history of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. Since its debut in 2015, this tournament has grown significantly and will this year feature an expanded field of 156 professionals.

The field will be led by 2010 Open champion and current world number 22 Oosthuizen and former European Ryder Cup captain and 2011 Open champion Darren Clarke.

Asian Tour stars Shiv Sankar Prasad (SSP) Chawrasia of India and Scott Hend of Australia have also confirmed their places in the tournament.

From the European Tour, Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts – a member of the victorious European team in the 2012 Ryder Cup and a two-time winner on the European Tour – is in the field alongside French professionals Raphael Jacquelin, a four-time winner on the European Tour, and Romain Langasque.

The field also includes a multitude of European Tour winners in George Coetzee, the winner of the inaugural AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at The Heritage Golf Club in 2015, Dylan Frittelli and Dean Burmester.