GRAND BAIE, Mauritius (AP) — French golfer Antoine Rozner produced a brilliant burst of scoring on the front nine on Sunday to win the Mauritius Open by five shots and become a three-time European tour champion.

Rozner, who started the final round with a two-shot lead, extended his advantage to five after carding an eagle and three birdies over the first nine holes.

Despite breezy conditions at Mont Choisy Le Golf, he held his own over the back nine in making one birdie and one bogey to sign for a 5-under 67, finish the tournament on 19-under 269 and erase the memory of his defeat to Rasmus Hojgaard in a play-off at this event three years ago.

Rozner’s previous European tour titles came in Dubai in 2020 and Qatar in 2021.

Rozner’s nearest challenger was Spaniard Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, who finished alone in second on 14-under after also posting a 67 on his 41st birthday.

France’s Julien Brun was two shots further back in third after his level-par 72.

“Unbelievable. It’s a tough game. We practise so hard all year long and a win is a win and I’m so glad I got this done,” said Rozner after his triumph at the final tournament of the calendar year. “I didn’t know anything about the scores, I didn’t want to have a look. I knew I was in the lead.

“I knew if I kept playing like this there was going to be no issue at the end but it was so hard.”

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