This Thursday marks the start of the Open de France at the Le Golf National course in Paris. Two classics. The tournament and the course. Just over two months ago, the two Olympic tournaments were held at this very venue, first the men’s and then the women’s. The good results in the men’s event were surprising. Scottie Scheffler won with -19, Fleetwood took silver with -18, and Matsuyama grabbed bronze with -17. The top 10 closed at -12.
Never in the history of the Open de France at this course had a tournament been won with such a low score. And this will be the thirtieth edition at Le Golf National. Well, it seems, from what is being said from the French capital, that it was indeed an exception. The course in Versailles has left behind the glamour of the Games and has returned to the spiky attire of the DP World Tour.
To begin with, the weather is very different. At the beginning of August, the course was drier and harder, it was hot and, consequently, the ball flew more, covering more distance and requiring shorter clubs for shots to the green. These days it is colder, much colder, and, to top it off, it has rained heavily in recent hours. This means the ball flies less and the course is soft. Practically, where the ball lands, it stays. This translates to longer clubs to the green. More difficulty in leaving them close, despite the greens obviously being more receptive due to the fallen water.
However, beyond the course being long, the main difference lies in the rough. During the Games, we witnessed an unusual sight at Le Golf National. There were many areas where the tall grass protecting the fairways was yellow, consequently weaker and less penalising. Initially, the weather forecast is improving. It seems it won’t rain too much from this Thursday until Sunday, although on Wednesday there were even doubts about starting the tournament on time on Thursday, as the staff at Golf National had a lot of work ahead to get the course in shape. We’ll see.
As things stand, it’s normal for the winning score in this Open de France to be around -15, if at all. During practice rounds, there have been players who have lost balls in the rough or have had them embedded. It’s not so much that it’s long, which isn’t an exaggeration, but that it’s hard and very dense.
Beyond the winning score, it’s normal not to see the top 10 in double digits either. In fact, in the entire 21st century, it has only happened once, in 2003 reaching -11. It has never reached the -12 of the Games. The lowest winning score in the history of the Open de France at Le Golf National in the DP World Tour was in 1997 with Retief Goosen, who reached -17. Initially, with the caution typical of how good these golfers are, we shouldn’t expect something like that this week.
In any case, there’s nothing better than going to the direct source. Paraguayan Fabrizio Zanotti was at the Games and is at the Open de France this week. When asked for his verdict, he doesn’t hesitate: “it’s much more complicated this week”.
