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A stadium course with water and sand but few trees
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Detry 22/123.00 can secure maiden win in mediocre field
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In-form Bjork 22/123.00 to contend once again
Tournament Notes
• With one week remaining until the Ryder Cup tees-up in Italy, the DP World Tour travels to Le Golf National, where Europe enjoyed a comprehensive victory over the United States in 2018;
• The French Open is the oldest professional national open in Continental Europe, first held in 1906;
• However, Le Golf National's involvement with this event is a lot more recent, staging its first professional open in 1991;
• And with this week's tournament sandwiched between Wentworth's PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup, the field is weaker than normal. Just four members of the world's top 50 will be teeing-up on Thursday.
Course Notes
• Located around 15 miles south-west of Paris city centre, Le Golf National is a modern stadium course with plenty of water and sand, but very few trees.
• Opening for business on October 5th, 1990, the course wasted little time in hosting the French Open for the first time - just eight months later;
• And this week, Le Golf National's Albatros Course will make its 29th appearance on the DP World Tour calendar;
• Water hazards of various descriptions come into play on 10 holes, while the fairways are beautifully contoured;
• The rough is usually heavy, and the putting surfaces are large and undulating;
• In 2024, the course will host both the men's and women's events of the Paris Olympic Games;
• The testing Le Golf National has a capacity for 80,000 spectators.
Latest betting for this week's Cazoo French Open
Stroke Averages
Lowest Eight At Le Golf National (2016-22)
Average .... (Rounds)
69.67: Alexander Bjork (12)
70.00: Marcus Kinhult (10)
70.63: Jordan Smith (16)
70.65: Andy Sullivan (17)
70.78: Adrian Otaegui (18)
70.79: Ryan Fox (14)
70.80: Hao Tong Li (10)
70.86: Thomas Detry (14)
Min. No. of Rounds = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table
Cazoo French Open Top Tips: Five To Watch
Alexander Bjork 22/123.00: Three starts at Le Golf National that includes a brace of top-10s. The Swede stood on the podium here six years ago. Currently leads the Strokes Gained: Approach the Green category for the current DP World Tour season.
Thomas Detry 22/123.00: Posted a top-10 at Le Golf National on his most recent visit in 2019. Nine times a podium finisher on Tour but is yet to hold aloft a trophy.
Tom Kim 10/111.00: The highest-ranked golfer teeing-up this week. Has performed solidly since mid-June, a run that included joint-runner-up in The Open and tied-18th at Wentworth.
Min Woo Lee 14/115.00: The world No 45 Aussie followed a tie-for-seventh in Ireland, with a T-14 at Wentworth. Is a two-time winner on the DP World Tour.
Aaron Rai 16/117.00: Tied-second at Wentworth on Sunday, a result which earned the Englishman a career-high No 67 in the World Ranking.
MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut
Note: List Contains Leading Reserves
Note: No tournament in either 2020 & 2021