The European Tour heads to one of its best courses this week for the Open de France which will be staged at the course which this time last year was getting ready to stage the Ryder Cup in Le Golf National just outside Paris.
Alex Noren warmed up for that competition by winning this event last year and he is back to attempt to defend the title. He probably headlines a pretty weak field by the standards of this tournament, which is a bit of a shame as it is usually such a good event.
Recent Winners
2018 – Alex Noren
2017 – Tommy Fleetwood
2016 – Thongchai Jaidee
2015 – Bernd Wiesberger
2014 – Graeme McDowell
2013 – Graeme McDowell
2012 – Marcel Siem
2011 – Thomas Levet
2010 – Miguel Angel Jimenez
2009 – Martin Kaymer
The Course
We are used to seeing this tournament in July when it is relatively firm and fast but we only have to look back to that Ryder Cup last season to appreciate the test we are going to see this year. You do not want to be missing fairways this week with the rough so penal in that Ryder Cup. With water in play on a lot of holes and guarding a number of greens the test this week is very much a tee-to-green one whichever way you look at it.
The track is a par 71 which only stretches to 7,249 yards so it is not the longest. Accuracy has such a premium this week but a decent putter will never leave this place hungry as highlighted by the roll of honour above. I’m not interested in any bombers this week. This is a strategic test which should end the recent trend of low scores needed to win tournaments.
The Field
This event lost its Rolex Series status and as a result it has lost the star names it usually attracts. It hasn’t lost the defending champion Alex Noren though. He is in the field while a number of French players will tee it up looking to win their home Open. Mike Lorenzo-Vera is probably the best of their team but Victor Perez, Romain Langasque and Victor Dubuisson are just some of those looking to show their worth.
Matthias Schwab will look to emulate his countryman Bernd Wiesberger and win this tournament the week after his compatriot won in Italy, while Joost Luiten, Erik van Rooyen, Thomas Pieters and Jordan Smith are among those looking to take advantage of a weak field. Kurt Kitayama, Martin Kaymer, Ross Fisher and Stewart Cink are just some of the names who jump out at us for one reason or another this week.
Market Leaders
The defending champion Alex Noren is the 12/1 favourite to win the tournament this week. He is clearly the standout player in the field but I’ve been watching him closely in recent weeks with an eye on backing him here but his form doesn’t look there which isn’t ideal. Going back to a venue where a player has positive memories can often revive their form but I just don’t see it here. He isn’t for me.
Erik van Rooyen is a tournament winner this season who is in the field and at 14/1 that probably makes him popular, especially as he won on a track and in conditions not too dissimilar to what he will face here. He is in decent touch too with a bunch of top 15 finishes since his win so he probably deserves to be the favourite. He isn’t quite tight enough off the tee for my liking though.
Joost Luiten and Matthias Schwab are both 16/1 shots to win this week. As you would expect with a tee-to-green test, Luiten has a decent enough record around here and should be popular if he is a little on the short side. Schwab tackles the test for the second time this year and he is undoubtedly better than when he came here last year. I wouldn’t be shocked if he won but he’s also a touch short now.
Thomas Pieters is an 18/1 to win for a second time this season. He has some good finishes here without ever truly being in the frame but we have to remember that most of those would have been against much better fields than this one is. In saying that I always think he is a better player where there is more freedom off the tee and his power counts for something. There is no error off the tee here and his power is negated ergo he isn’t for me. It is 20/1 bar.
Main Bets
I’m going to side with the home man this week in Victor Perez. He should still be buzzing from winning the Dunhill Links a few weeks ago where he drove the ball amazingly well. His long game was in excellent order in Italy last week as well which is a massive factor in me taking him here. He looks to be striking the ball absolutely beautifully at the minute and we saw in Scotland that he is getting his rock to roll nicely as well. I expect Perez to be a big star on the Tour now and having contended on another tee-to-green test in Hong Kong at the start of the season he should run very strong on another here.
My second main bet this week is going to be on the man who won that tournament in Hong Kong. That was no surprise to us because we was on Aaron Rai that week and given the pure class of his long game I have to be on him here. Last week in Italy he ranked sixth in fairways hit and ranked 12 in GIR, sixth in strokes gained on approach and 11 on strokes gained tee-to-green. Simply put he is a relentless ball striking machine and if he can get hot with the putter this week he is going to have a big say at the business end of this tournament.
Outsiders
Sebastian Soderberg is another winner this season who is in the field and his long game in Italy last week was enough to make me think he has more than a squeak in this event. You can’t play down the lift winning a tournament can give a player. It makes him feel like he belongs in even the biggest events let alone these ones where the field is weaker. The Swede has looked like he is coming to the boil again after naturally having a couple of poor weeks immediately after his first win at this level. At 66/1 I’ll take my chances here.
I was delighted to see Soren Kjeldsen come back to form last week ahead of this tournament where his relentless long game should have him right in the mix. Actually he wasn’t as dialled in as he often can be throughout the week in Rome but the longer it went on the more you could see he was happy with his game even though a Sunday at a Rolex Series event came a little too soon for him. He has four top 15 finishes here in the last 10 years and the time of year should bring his credentials even more into play. He has to be a danger this week.
Another absolutely relentless striker of the ball is Ashley Chesters and he is my final pick this week. Nearly every week he tees it up he is high up in the fairways hit and greens in regulation statistics. Nobody hit more fairways than him in Italy last week and for that discipline on the whole season he ranks at third while he is ranked 21 in greens hit over the season. It can’t be underplayed how important splitting these fairways will be this week. It is more than half the game. If he holes a few putts on top he’ll be right there.
Tips
Back V.Perez to win Open de France (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with BetVictor (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back A.Rai to win Open de France (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 46.00 with Betfred (1/5 1-7)
Back S.Soderberg to win Open de France (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 67.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-8)
Back him here:
Back S.Kjeldsen to win Open de France (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with 888sport (1/5 1-6)
Back A.Chesters to win Open de France (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 91.00 with 888sport (1/5 1-6)
Back them here:
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