BEL OMBRE/MAURITIUS - Haydn Porteous has warned first-time participants in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open not to be distracted by the beauty of the Heritage Golf Resorts layout, saying the course can have a mean bite when the conditions allow for it.
Porteous bought property at Heritage two years ago and while he admits that he doesn’t visit the Indian Ocean nation often, he has familiarised himself with the track.
“I must say, it’s quite difficult to work on the game when you are at a place like this,” he confesses. “I think every player can say that and we’d rather be spending a bit of time on the beach rather than practising and doing what we’re supposed to do here.
“The wind is the first thing to look out for,” says Porteous, “if you get it on a good day, you want to shoot something worth talking about. But, when it’s windy, it can play very tough and I think then the course can show its teeth.”
Porteous said the score will be dictated by the weather.
“The game plan will differ between what we get weather-wise,” he says, “if we get a windy week, it’s going to be a long and tough week. If we get a pretty flat, calm week, I think the scores are going to be really good.”
Coming to Mauritius after a difficult season in Europe where he finished 112th on the moneylist, Porteous isn’t too worried about the state of his game, and cannot wait to tee it up on Thursday.
“I wouldn't say that I’ve had the worst couple of seasons in Europe,” he argues, “I think I’ve been really consistent but I just have not been able to find the low one in me just yet, but you know how golf goes, it just takes one good shot to change everything.”
Haydn Porteous: If we get a windy week, it’s going to be a long and tough week. Photo: @Sunshine_Tour on twitter
Like many Sunshine Tour players plying their trade abroad, Porteous is delighted to return to warmer weather conditions ahead of his Christmas break.
“Europe is tough,” he says with a grin, “sometimes the weather throws a few curve balls at us and on top of that, it is quite intense, so to come here and chill out and just remember why you play golf and enjoy it, is quite nice and refreshing. It’s nice to come out here and not treat it as a major.”