Parry claims first DP World Tour win for 14 years in Mauritius
John Parry capped a stellar 2024 by claiming a second DP World Tour title more than 14 years on from his first as a brilliant burst of scoring on the back nine saw him win the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open by two shots.
The Englishman started the day five shots off the lead but carded an eagle, seven birdies and a bogey to sign for a stunning 64 and set the clubhouse target at 14 under par.
With third-round co-leader Dylan Naidoo still making his way down the back nine, Parry faced an anxious wait, but when the South African did not make the eagle he required to force a play-off at the last, Parry was able to celebrate his return to the DP World Tour winner's circle.
Although his last victory at this level came at the Vivendi Cup 2010, Parry is no stranger to lifting trophies, having won three times on the European Challenge Tour this calendar year.
South Africans Naidoo and Christo Lamprecht finished in a tie for second, two shots behind Parry, on 12 under, one ahead of countryman Jovan Rebula while Eddie Pepperell — join leader overnight — ended up tied for ninth after a final round 74
After three birdies and one bogey on the front side saw him turn in 34, Parry's final round burst into life on the homeward nine as he chipped in for an eagle at the 12th to get within one shot of the lead.
The 38-year-old followed that up with back-to-back gains on the 13th and 14th before an eight-foot birdie on the 16th handed him the outright lead.
He produced a shot-of-the-week contender off the 17th tee before being unable to convert the six-foot birdie putt but made amends at the last as he closed his round with a fine birdie to go two clear and give himself breathing space at the summit.
And with no-one in the final groups able to catch him, Parry secured a long-awaited DP World Tour victory and finished top of the Opening Swing Rankings, making him exempt into all 'Back 9' tournaments and earning him a US$200,000 bonus.
Having won the Delhi Challenge in March, the Blot Open de Bretagne in June, the Italian Challenge Open in September and now the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, 2024 represents a real return to prominence for Parry, who revealed he was close to giving up golf a number of years ago amid a struggle for form and results.
"It's massive," he said. "I don't know how long ago - five or six years ago - I was back on the EuroPro Tour and I was close to giving up golf after winning when I was 23 out here.
"So it's been a long battle back but worth every moment for this week."
Parry feels his excellent eagle at the 12th was a turning point on Sunday.
He added: "It was a bit of a challenging week all week but that chip-in on the 12th really just gave me a bit of momentum for the rest of the round. So that was a real key moment.
"That eagle there just got me a little spark, with a couple of good chances coming up. And I just really didn't miss a shot coming in so that was really key."
West Waterford’s Gary Hurley tied for 42nd on one-under after making four birdies and four bogeys in a closing 72.
274 - John Parry 70 69 71 64
276 - Christo Lamprecht 69 68 74 65, Dylan Naidoo 70 69 66 71
277 - Jovan Rebula 71 69 67 70
278 - Richard Sterne 75 66 73 64, Freddy Schott 74 68 69 67, Andreas Halvorsen 68 70 72 68, Christiaan Burke 72 67 70 69
279 - Scott Jamieson 69 74 72 64, Corey Shaun 74 68 66 71, Jacob Olesen 67 70 69 73, Eddie Pepperell 66 70 69 74
280 - Marcus Kinhult 72 71 68 69, Clement Sordet 74 70 65 71, Jayden Schaper 68 72 68 72
281 - Hamish Brown 68 68 74 71, Ricky Hendler 72 68 70 71, Ben Schmidt 69 71 70 71
282 - Oliver Lindell 71 69 73 69, Andrea Pavan 69 72 72 69, Wilco Nienaber 68 72 70 72
283 - Benjamin Hebert 69 74 71 69, David Law 74 69 72 68, Renato Paratore 68 73 72 70, Matthew Southgate 74 67 72 70, JJ Senekal 69 75 69 70, James Morrison 70 72 69 72
284 - Deon Germishuys 70 74 70 70, Wynand Dingle 72 69 74 69, Adri Arnaus 72 71 73 68, Daniel Gale 76 65 70 73, Nikhil Rama 71 71 76 66
285 - Niklas Lemke 70 73 72 70, Zihao Jin 73 72 69 71, Filip Mruzek 74 70 69 72
286 - Keenan Davidse 74 71 70 71, Casey Jarvis 71 73 70 72, Jack Senior 71 74 71 70, Sebastian Garcia 70 73 74 69, Angel Ayora 72 70 75 69, Mikael Lindberg 70 75 66 75
287 - Luke Brown 70 71 73 73, Ivan Cantero 69 73 72 73, Gary Hurley 74 68 73 72, Wenyi Ding 76 67 70 74, Tadeas Tetak 73 71 72 71, Brandon Robinson Thompson 73 70 70 74, Joakim Lagergren 71 73 68 75, Davis Bryant 69 73 74 71, Thomas Aiken 73 69 75 70, Sean Crocker 72 73 73 69
288 - Jacques Blaauw 68 71 74 75, Louis de Jager 70 68 77 73, Yurav Premlall 74 71 71 72, Nicolai Von Dellingshausen 72 70 74 72, Justin Harding 73 72 73 70
289 - Jean Hugo 71 71 73 74, Trevor Fisher Jnr 71 69 75 74, Felix Mory 74 71 71 73, Daniel Brown 75 68 73 73
291 - CJ du Plessis 75 70 73 73, Max Rottluff 74 71 74 72
292 - Ryan Van Velzen 71 73 70 78, Jason Roets 73 71 73 75, Alexander Levy 73 72 74 73, Joel Moscatel 71 73 75 73, Jonathan Broomhead 71 70 79 72
294 - Santiago Tarrio 73 72 70 79, Altin van der Merwe 73 72 74 75, Justin Walters 73 70 76 75
295 - Tiger Christensen 71 72 75 77, Kyle Barker 76 69 76 74
298 - Anthony Michael 70 75 74 79
