There is another big tournament on the European Tour this week and it is an important event for a number of reasons. Not only is this the 100th running of the Open de France, one of the most historic events on the Tour and a top quality event in its own right, but in order to attract a strong field there are double Ryder Cup points up for grabs so both the short and long term will be in focus in Paris this week.
If that wasn’t enough of an incentive in this event there are also four more places in The Open up for grabs for those who haven’t yet qualified. With all of that a decent field has been put together and with them playing one of the best golf courses in Europe we are set for an excellent week of golf in the French capital.
Recent Winners
2015 – Bernd Wiesberger
2014 – Graeme McDowell
2013 – Graeme McDowell
2012 – Marcel Siem
2011 – Thomas Levet
2010 – Miguel Angel Jimenez
2009 – Martin Kaymer
2008 – Pablo Larrazabal
2007 – Graeme Storm
2006 – John Bickerton
The Course
Le Golf National is going to host the Ryder Cup in 2018 and as such it has undergone some renovations in recent years. It is a stadium course with a very daunting final few holes where plenty of trip ups can take place for the leaders so this is a tournament which is only ever won once the final putt is sunk.
The course is a par 71 which measures 7,249 yards so it isn’t long but it might well play long this week with all the terrible weather that has been around Paris for the last month or so. Usually there is a little bit of freedom off the tee around here but the rough is likely to be dense and wet so there is more of a requirement to find the fairways and the greens. These aren’t the hardest greens to putt on so I think we’re looking for tee to green beasts here.
The Field
Bernd Wiesberger returns to defend the title and he has a number of strong challengers looking to take his title away from him. Rory McIlroy is the biggest name in the field but we also have the Masters champion Danny Willett teeing it up this week too.
McIlroy and Willett aren’t the only major champions in the field. Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Padraig Harrington, YE Yang, Darren Clarke and Mike Weir all tee it up this week as do some of Europe’s finest in Francesco Molinari, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald.
Market Leaders
Rory McIlroy heads the betting this week at 9/2. This is the first time we will have seen him since the US Open where he admitted he was having issues with his swing and with a premium on accuracy this week I’m not sure I can rush in to back him at this price with that in mind.
Martin Kaymer is something of a course specialist having only finished outside the top 13 twice in nine visits here. He also won around here in 2009 but you have to go back more than two years for his last win. He’s in good form though so I’m sure he’ll interest some at 16/1.
Danny Willett has been described as out of form since he won at Augusta but he has been in contention in a couple of events since then so that is a little dramatic. If he is on top form then he could easily make his 20/1 price look huge come Sunday.
Behind those three Francesco Molinari is alongside Lee Westwood at 22/1 with Graeme McDowell at 25/1. Matthew Fitzpatrick is 28/1 as is Rafa Cabrera-Bello and then it is 30/1 for the defending champion Wiesberger. It is 35/1 bar those named.
Main Bets
I’m taking two main bets for this tournament. The first is on a Francesco Molinari who has gone on record as saying how he loves this course and how it suits his eye and this year more than any other the course could really suit him with the necessity to stay out of the rough.
Molinari is a tee to green machine and anyone who has followed him on the PGA Tour this year will know that his short game is improving fast and that when put together could be a lethal combination.
Molinari has had three top 20s in his last five tournaments on the PGA Tour including last week at the Quicken Loans National. He is good on tough tracks and looks a solid bet to build on his two runners up finishes here.
For the last year or so whenever tee to green monsters have been needed I’m always looking at Matthew Fitzpatrick. In what you would call normal European Tour events the value has gone on him but McIlroy’s appearance adds some value to the price of the Sheffield star this week and as such I’m taking him to win a second tournament in as many months having won the Nordea Masters in May.
Fitzpatrick was the best player from tee to green that week and is currently 13th on the European Tour for greens in regulation. He isn’t as high in the fairways stat as usual this year but a lot of that has been because he has had to bend his back to compete in length. That isn’t the case here so the high class all-round game of the Englishman should see him go very close to Paris glory.
Outsiders
I’m taking three at bigger prices as well. The first is another man who has played on the PGA Tour this year in Jamie Donaldson. Donaldson hasn’t made ground breaking strides in America this year but there have been signs that he is getting better and now that he is fully fit again we know he is always a leading player in Europe as he showed with a top 10 in Ireland last month.
Donaldson is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour and without the need to smack it miles around here his tee to green same should be solid enough to compete. He has good previous form on this track with two top 10s and a top 20 in the last three years so everything is line for him to outperform his 60/1 odds.
Brandon Stone’s tee to green game caught my eye last week but he couldn’t hole anything on what were pretty tricky greens as they all are on Jack Nicklaus courses but with the greens here nowhere near as severe if he can replicate his performance from tee to green of last week he’s entitled to go close to a second European Tour title this week. I’ll take my chances to see how well he putts at 100/1.
Finally I’m going with a home player in the form of Mike Lorenzo-Vera who is showing a real prowess for contending on tough tracks. He has already finished inside the top 10 at Valderrama and last week in 2016 and going back to last year he had top 10 finishes here and at Woburn so the harder the test the better he seems to perform and with that in mind he’s a massive price at 150/1 this week.
Tips
PLACED – Back F.Molinari to win Open de France (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 23.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back M.Fitzpatrick to win Open de France (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
PLACED – Back B.Stone to win Open de France (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back M.Lorenzo-Vera to win Open de France (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back them here:
Back J.Donaldson to win Open de France (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 61.00 with Betfred (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
