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66/167.00 Alexander Levy can fly French flag again here
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40/141.00 Tom Lewis has been boosted by Q-School success
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100/1101.00 Joakim Lagergren is making fast starts
Weather forecast for Thursday
Given the oceanside location, it's fair to expect gusty conditions. But that's not really the case on Thursday.
Wind speeds are around 6-10mph while temperatures are a consistent 80-85 degrees through the golfing day.
There doesn't appear to be any weather bias so I'll pick freely, regardless of tee times.
Back Alexander Levy @ 66/167.00
A quick scan of the winner and runner-up sections on the Mauritius Open wiki page shows three French flags in the last three editions.
With French one of the country's official languages maybe there's some logic to that and you certainly won't find anyone more comfortable in this setting that Antoine Rozner, who has a first and a second in the latest two runnings.
It's a new course this week but Rozner could still be a possible for FRL. That said, he's second in the betting and I prefer to look further down the odds.
Preference is for French compatriot Alexander Levy, who has shown some good flashes lately with a top 20 in his home Open de France and eighth in the Australian Open earlier this month.
Levy was sixth after 18 holes in Australia while in July another quick start at the PGA Tour's Barracuda Championship put him second on the day one leaderboard.
With form by the coast in the Portugal Masters (former winner), the Middle East and the Scottish Open, this test should be very much in his wheelhouse.
Back Tom Lewis @ 40/141.00
Having once led the Open Championship (2011) after round one as an amateur, Tom Lewis's name always pops into my head for this market in an event by the sea.
Lewis has had plenty of peaks and troughs in his career but produced some brilliant golf over the closing rounds at Q-School recently to secure his playing privileges for 2024.
That late burst included a 61, a score he once shot in the prestigious 2020 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
You'll find another 61 during his win at the 2018 Portugal Masters, a coastal event he's won twice. Yep, when's he on, Lewis really can shoot the lights out.
A first-round leader at the Abu Dhabi Challenge earlier this year, let's hope that the boost of winning his card means Lewis has another low one in him here.
Back Joakim Lagergren @ 100/1101.00
Any reasonably close observer of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland will know that Joakim Lagergren has a ridiculously good record.
He's played that event seven times and boasts a second, a third, two fourths and a 12th.
Enjoying links settings is one part of his appeal here; the other is his recent penchant for fast starts.
His outright form is solid enough - he's made his last four cuts and placed 31st and 39th in his latest two outings - but his Thursday numbers are striking.
The Swede was a first-round leader in the South African Open thanks to a 65, he sat 10th after 18 holes of last week's Alfred Dunhill Championship and, widening the lens, his last five openers read: 68, 65, 68, 69, 66.
The latter came at the Open de France, that strong start putting him fifth after day one.
There's plenty there to make him an enticing bet at a three-figure price.