Seychelles hosting prestigious golf tournament for second year in a row

The tournament is taking place at the Praslin island's Constance Lemuria golf course. (Vanessa Lucas, Seychelles Tourism Board)

(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles is for the second year in a row hosting a prestigious regional golf competition, the MCB Tour Championship, which starts Thursday.

According to the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), 48 players are expected to tee off on Praslin island's Constance Lemuria golf course for three days of competition.

Among the internationally known golfers are Roger Chapman of Britain, the defending champion, Clark Dennis of the United States and Paul McGinley of Ireland.

Praslin, the second-most populated island and home to the iconic coco-de-mer, will be featured as the second leg of a three-destination competition of the regional MCB Tour Championship.

The STB's chief executive, Sherin Francis, has expressed her satisfaction that the event has contributed considerably in providing visibility to the destination, especially Praslin.

"Since we opened our shores to the MCB Tour Championship last year, it is clear that the visibility received by the destination was worldwide. Our partnership in the event is even more justified today as we see the increase in the number of players for the event, implying that the interest for our destination has also increased. We are looking forward
to a successful event in Seychelles," she said.

Francis added that being part of the event is one of STB's marketing strategies to increase the destination's visibility and promoting Seychelles as a sports destination.

Bernard Jackson, managing director of MCB, one of the sponsors of the tour, said, "For the second year running, Seychelles is thrilled to host the pro golfers competing in the European Senior Tour. We celebrate our renewed international visibility on the golfing scene and are delighted that this year Madagascar also gets its share of the limelight with its inclusion in the tour alongside Mauritius and Seychelles. I thank the Seychelles Tourism Board and all the contributing partners for making this event a resounding success."

Golfers warmed up in the pro-am competition in which professionals teamed up with Seychellois residents. (Vanessa Lucas, Seychelles Tourism Board) Photo License: CC-BY

In a warm-up competition on Wednesday, the professional golfers teamed up with Seychellois residents for the pro-am competition.

This year the Tour Championship was extended to three tournaments with an extra tournament at International Golf Club Du Rova near Antananarivo, Madagascar.

The first tournament started on Friday November 29 to Sunday December 1, in Antananarivo.

The tournament in Seychelles will end on Saturday December 7 and the season finale will take place at Constance Belle Mare Plage in Mauritius from Friday December 13 to Sunday December 15.

The MCB Tour Championship is a men's senior (over 50) professional golf tournament on the European Senior Tour. It has been held every year in December since 2009.