The DP World Tour moves from Italy to France and our man fancies a Scotsman to flourish. Read Steve's Open de France preview here...
Steve says: "Nicolas Colsaerts ranked third for Driving Distance when winning here three years ago and only 33rd for Driving accuracy but historically, the driving metrics averages show accuracy is more important than power. The DD average for the last 16 winners is 32.9 and the average DA ranking for the 16 is 11.25 so being straight off the tee is usually more important that hitting it miles but what you do after the drive is also important.
"Colsaerts ranked third for Greens In Regulation and nine of the last 15 winners have ranked inside the top-three for GIR so that's a really key stat. Colsaerts only ranked 68th for Scrambling and that's an unusually high ranking for any winner and especially so at Le Golf National.
"The two previous winners, Alex Noren and Tommy Fleetwood, ranked eighth and ninth for Scrambling and that was still quite high for this venue...
"Although he's playing here for the first time, there's plenty of evidence to suggest Ewen Ferguson will take to the venue. Ferguson won the Qatar Masters at Doha, another exposed track with a linksy feel to it, and he finished 12th in the Cazoo Open at Celtic Manor on debut last month.
"He's missed two of four cuts since then, but he's also won his second DP World Tour event - the ISPS Handa World Invitational - and he's finished runner-up in Denmark, where he was very impressive in-contention."
Steve's bet: Back Ewen Ferguson @ 70.069/1
Who has the form and the game to make a strong start in Paris on Thursday? Dave Tindall has three picks to be First-Round Leader
Dave says: "Ryan Fox is a morning starter at 08.10 so will have to face coolish conditions at the beginning but, what the heck, he's a tough New Zealander so that shouldn't matter.

"Instead I prefer to focus on his reputation for fast starts. The Kiwi has had a piece of the first-round lead in three of his last 15 starts on the DP World Tour, the most recent coming in July's Irish Open.
"He's also gone low on this course, finishing sixth on debut in 2017 and firing an opening 65 to take the first-round lead in 2019, the last occasion the event was played. Somewhat unusually, Fox withdrew from Wentworth after twisting his knee while walking around a kitchen table. It kept him out of last week's Italian Open but he's fine to tee it up here."
Dave's bet: Back Ryan Fox each-way at 41.040/1
Matt Cooper, who last week tipped a fourth winner in five LIV Golf columns, has three selections for this week's event in Paris with the Betfair Sportsbook paying seven places...
Matt says: "Connor Syme, the Scotsman, has played Celtic Manor's 2010 Course brilliantly, finishing second, third, eighth and 18th - it's a course that, especially from the first through the 14th, has plenty of water hazards.
"What about his long game? He's ranked 10th for Greens in Regulation this year and 55th for Driving Accuracy - moreover he's ranked third for the latter in two of his last four starts. So he can plot his way patiently from tee-to-green.
"And what of the visuals? Modern course, lots of water, high land around the course with flowing fescue grass? His win on the Challenge Tour was at Samsun in Turkey and that was much like this week."
Matt's bet: Back Connor Syme each-way @ 51.050/1
Andy Swales discusses the course, the players' form and recommends his ones to watch at this week's French Open...
Andy says: "Located around 15 miles south-west of the city centre, Le Golf National is a modern stadium course with plenty of water and sand, but few trees. It opened for business on October 5th, 1990, and just eight months later hosted the French Open for the first time.
"This week will witness the 28th occasion that Le Golf National's Albatros Course has staged the French Open. Water hazards of various descriptions come into play on 10 holes - and particularly on the back nine - while the fairways and greens are beautifully contoured...
"Rasmus Hojgaard, the young Dane, is yet to reach the heights of the past couple of years, but has not been playing badly either. There has been three top-10s in 2022, and he tied-18th at Wentworth earlier this month."
Andy's Player to Watch: Back Rasmus Hojgaard @ 40.039/1
Dave Tindall picks out his best bets at Quail Hollow this week, and believes the Internationals can keep the scoreline in check in this famously one-sided contest...
Dave says: "It would be brave to take on the USA and they're trading at just 1.171/6 to win again. The Internationals are 8.615/2 while the Draw is 2423/1.
"But I do think it will be closer than many think. Immelman strikes me as a meticulous captain, who will relish trying to squeeze every drop out of a side that doesn't have much of a chance on paper. He, himself, didn't when winning the US Masters at 150/1 and 15 years on Immelman will want to show that same grit and belief remains as strong as ever.

"So I'll throw out some correct score bets and hope that a combination of the Internationals being greater than the sum of their parts and a bit of American complacency gets us a reward.
"This could be terribly wrong but I'm going for the sweetspot of a USA four-point winning margin. So I'll back 17-13 to the hosts and the two nearest margins either side: by three points (16.5-13-5) and by five (17.5-12.5)."
Dave's bet: Back USA to beat Internationals 17-13 @ 12.011/1
Andy Swales discusses the history of the cup, the key stats and the course at Quail Hollow...
Andy says: "This highly-regarded parkland course opened for business on June 3rd, 1961, since when it has welcomed one major tournament, plus almost 30 regular Tour events.
"For 11 straight seasons from 1969, Quail Hollow staged the Kemper Open, with the course returning to the PGA Tour calendar in May 2003 - following an absence of 24 years. Architect Tom Fazio has been involved in a number of Quail renovations, most recently in 2016.
"This latest upgrade prepared the course for the 2017 PGA Championship which was won by Justin Thomas who plays this week. The biggest structural change occurred nine years ago, when all 18 putting surfaces were changed from Bentgrass to Bermuda.
"Quail Hollow, which was built 600 feet above sea level and six miles south of Charlotte city centre, is a testing tree-lined layout with water in play on six holes - most of these late in the round."