Jayden Schaper Holes Out For Eagle To Win AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open In Playoff Over Masters-Bound Ryan Gerard

WELCOME

Hello and welcome to Golf Monthly's coverage of the 2025 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open final round.

Ryan Gerard is on course to win his first outright DP World Tour title, following success at the co-sanctioned Barracuda Championship earlier this season, but he's being pushed hard by Jayden Schaper who won the Alfred Dunhill Championship last week.

After waiting so long for his first DP World Tour title, could the South African win back-to-back? We're not far from finding out. Seven holes to play.

Away from the leaders, South Africa's Zander Lombard has just finished his final round - it was a simply remarkable 10-under 62 to rocket himself up into the top-10.. He's currently T4th after finishing on 15-under.

LEADER MISSES FOR EAGLE

Gerard reached the back of the 12th green in two and had a monster eagle try ahead of him. He's left himself an awkward birdie putt, but with Schaper in close a hole ahead, he might need to make this to retain his lead...

GERARD DRAINS IT

Gerard waits for the wind to die down a little before firmly pushing his birdie putt into the hole. He's up to 21-under.

And that's massive for the American as Schaper pushes his birdie try at the 13th wide right. Gerard has a two-stroke lead once again.

DRIVEABLE PAR 4

The 13th is 325-yard downhill par 4 which is certainly driveable with the wind behind today. Similar to TPC San Antonio, there is a little bunker right in the middle of the putting surface which players are trying to avoid sitting the wrong side of.

Gerard has gone long and left with his tee shot, but he should be able to loft one over the sand and come away with par at worst.

LOW ROUTE

With the wind really driving on at the moment, Gerard goes low and a little left from off the 13th green, using the contours of the surface to help move his ball back towards the flag. It's a good effort and he will have a nice chance for birdie once more.

SAVE FROM SCHAPER

At the par-3 14th, Schaper comes up short of the green into the wind and is forced to rely on his short game to escape with par. He duly does so after clipping a chip to within a few inches of the hole.

NO DRAMA

Gerard can't make his birdie putt from six feet or so and he taps in for a par. While that might be slightly disappointing, the American still has a two-stroke cushion with five holes to play.

THREE EXCELLENT SHOTS

The final group make the 178-yard par-3 back into the strong wind look easy with a hat-trick of excellent strikes. Alexander Levy - who needs a high finish to try and retain his playing rights - and Gerard are 15 feet past the flag while Casey Jarvis has 10 feet up the slope.

LEVY ON THE WAY BACK

After a triple-bogey at the sixth, Alexander Levy is finding his groove again. He's rolled one in for birdie, touching it down the hill and leaving a good foot or two of break.

Gerard comes up short from a similar position, somehow, but he remains bogey-free with five birdies doing the job for him.

Casey Jarvis also makes birdie and is now within three of the lead. Two-under for the day and 18-under for the week.

FORCED LAY-UP

Levy and Jarvis rip drives down the middle of the fairway at the par-5 15th, but Gerard has sailed one into the right rough. He won't be able to go for the green in two now, you'd have thought.

A chance for the chasing pair to pile some pressure on...

SCHAPER WITHIN ONE

Ahead on the 15th hole, Schaper wedges very close and will tap in for birdie to reach 20-under. Back down the same hole, Gerard has hacked an iron over to the left side of the fairway and still has a fair distance in...

SAFE

Gerard is playing very safe golf down the back nine. From the left edge of the fairway, a kind bounce has kicked his ball to the bottom third of the green, but he's still some 50 feet away. Two putts and he'll escape with a par. But Schaper is playing well and aggressively at that, so he will fancy his chances of catching the American.

PRESSURE ON

Gerard taps in for par at the par-5 15th, but Jayden Schaper has just produced a worldie at the par-4 16th. The South African mildly faded a long iron through the wind and up the green, leaving it maybe six feet right of the pin, hole high. That should be a birdie, and it would take Schaper right alongside Gerard at the sharp end of this tournament.

SCHAPER TIED FOR THE LEAD

Schaper confidently pours his birdie putt in - a just reward for such a world-class approach shot - and he moves to 21-under alongside Gerard.

CHANCE FOR GERARD

It's not a great chance, but it is an opportunity for Ryan Gerard to regain his lead. From 185 yards, the American fires one in low and it comes up 20 feet short and left of the hole.

His cause might be helped anyway as Schaper comes up woefully short of the green at the par-3 17th.

IN THE BALANCE

Schaper's ball was in the rough and above his feet at the 17th, leaving him a really tough little pitch. The South African youngster did a pretty good job of rescuing the situation, but he will still have a tricky 10 foot par attempt coming up...

On the 16th, Gerard sends a great putt towards the hole, but it somehow stays up and he stays at 21-under.

BIG PAR SAVE

Ooh that's a big putt from Jayden Schaper! The 24-year-old neatly rolls his par putt into the hole and walks over to 18 knowing he has a chance to make a gain and pile the pressure on Gerard.

HEART OF THE GREEN

Ryan Gerard has plunged his ball into the middle of the putting surface and will have a decent look at birdie once again. Up ahead, Jayden Schaper has fired his drive down the middle of the 18th fairway and he can go for the green in two...

LIP OUT

Oh that is so close for Gerard! He gave his putt a good run at the hole, but it just caught the left edge and stayed up. That will be a par and he'll have one last chance for win this one outright in regulation.

SCHAPER GOES LONG

From the centre of the fairway, Schaper blasts a wood into the middle of the green. But they're really firm, these greens, and it bounces long into the rough out to the right. That looks like a really tricky chip for his third.

Back on the tee, Ryan Gerard rifles his drive with a bit of fade into the middle of the fairway. Can he do any better than his title rival?

WIZARDRY

Schaper has a huge crowd following him today, and they all applaud heartily as he whips his ball into the mini slope on the green and it quickly checks up just past the hole. That was an incredible shot and gives him a chance to reach 22-under.

SCHAPER SETS CLUBHOUSE LEAD

That was a great putt. Schaper hammers his birdie putt into the centre of the cup with aplomb and sets the clubhouse target at 22-under. A closing round of 64 has given him the chance for consecutive DP World Tour titles. Over to you, Ryan Gerard.

GERARD CALLS FOR RULES OFFICIAL

The American says his ball moved just before he ground the club. He instantly calls for a rules official to ensure nothing untoward has happened. Interestingly, while the rules official was talking to Gerard, the ball moved again due to the wind.

The replay shows Gerard barely addresses the ball before his ball moved. He was very quick to call for a rules official, but it certainly doesn't look like he caused the ball to move.

NO PENALTY

The ruling is that Gerard can just play the ball from where it now lies. In fairness, it moved maybe an inch or two in total. There are preferred lies in place, too, so that comes into play in terms of the ruling, apparently.

IN THE SAND

Obviously unsettled by what has just happened, Gerard pushes his 3-wood out to the right and his ball ends up in the sandy waste area. He can still get up and down from there to force a playoff, but it won't be easy.

The massive consolation for Gerard is that, even if he ends solo second, he will still be in The Masters next year.

WORLD CLASS

Oh my goodness, that is incredible from Gerard! Facing a 40-yard bunker shot, the American catches it perfectly and sends the ball just past the flag on the fly before it zips back to inside five feet. That was amazing.

PUTT TO FORCE A PLAYOFF

It's a tricky putt that Gerard has here. Only five feet, but it's quick. Very quick. And has a degree of break in it. Here we go.

CLUTCH

Touch of a surgeon from Ryan Gerard! He dabs the ball down the slope and watches it drop home at a snail's pace. Gerard and Schaper will go back down the par-5 18th to decide this one!

18TH HOLE STATS

Schaper is three-under on the 18th this week while Gerard is only two-under. It's the South African to hit first as well.

Plus, Schaper won his first DP World Tour title in a playoff just seven days ago.

PLAYOFF UNDERWAY

Schaper absolutely rockets his drive as straight as an arrow down the 18th fairway, but his shot didn't catch the down slope and he'll have a long way in.

Meanwhile, Gerard's drive is akin to one of mine (but about 100 yards longer) as it sails miles out to the right. He will be OK in terms of not having to hit again, but it will be a lay-up with the ball quite a long way above his feet.

LAY UPS

Gerard takes an iron out and sends one down the right fairway. This hole splits into two about two-thirds of the way down with a ravine running through, so with no chance of reaching, the American took his medicine.

In response, Schaper goes for the green but comes up about 50 yards short with the wind howling back into the players' faces. He's in the rough, but much closer than Gerard.

A YARD TOO FAR

From 130 yards or so, Gerard sends his wedge right at the flag, but it's a yard too far and bounces just over the back. He could probably still make it, but it won't be easy.

Schaper has just under 70 yards to the hole from the rough. Anything on the back half of the green would be a good result here, I feel.

ADVANTAGE SCHAPER

The South African sends a really nice flighted wedge below the hole and his ball stops some 12 feet away from the target. It will definitely move quite a way from left to right, though, so this will be a tricky putt.

HOW HAS THAT NOT DROPPED?

Gerard weights his putt perfectly from off the green, but it just misses right and now Schaper will have a putt to win from the opposite side. He will have to hit this - it's very slow.

SECOND PLAYOFF HOLE

It's no good! Schaper's putt also missed right, so the players will head back down 18 for another crack at it.

TAKE TWO

Both players are in better shape than their first playoff battle, but Gerard is in the rough once again while Schaper is a bit further down the fairway.

The wind is still into the players' faces, so it will take an almighty thwack to reach the green in two.

ADVANTAGE SCHAPER (AGAIN)

Gerard once again takes aim at the right fairway and he just about avoids the rough, landing his ball in the first cut on the right side.

Following on, Schaper hammers a wood towards the green, but it comes up short once again. It's in the first cut down the left side, but it looks much easier to get up and down with the wind into.

BUNKER TROUBLE

Straight away, Gerard calls for his ball to go. He had 145 yards into the wind.

The result is awful. Gerard's ball strikes the lip and bounces backwards, ending semi-plugged at the front edge on a downslope. He might have to go backwards or sideways.

JAYDEN SCHAPER HOLE-OUT TO WIN

You are joking me! That is incredible! With 50 yards to the hole, Schaper clips his ball down the left side of the green and it rolls around towards the hole before dropping in! That's insane!

Jayden Schaper wins the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open to land his second victory in two weeks. It took him 95 starts to win his first and he now has two DP World Tour victories!

WINNING MOMENT

Watch this! Jayden Schaper's winning moment at the 2025 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open...