Rory McIlroy is hoping to use the pain of missing the cut at the US Open to spur him on to success at the 100th Open de France at Le Golf National.
The Northern Irishman missed just his fifth cut in a Major Championship with rounds of 77-71 at Oakmont, but has been in fine form this season with that result his only finish outside the top ten so far.
He won the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation just four weeks before his trip to Pennsylvania, but the four-time Major champion sets his bar very high and admits he has been working hard on his game.
This week is McIlroy’s first trip to the Open de France since 2010, when he finished just one shot out of a three-man play-off, with Miguel Angel Jiménez taking the title after prevailing over Alejandro Cañizares and Francesco Molinari.
Le Golf National will also play host to the Ryder Cup in 2018, and McIlroy is looking forward to re-familiarising himself with the Paris layout.
With the Open de France celebrating its centenary edition this week, coupled with the fact the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational will not count towards Ryder Cup qualification or the Race to Dubai, the European Tour have made specific enhancements to this week’s event meaning the tournament will have huge implications on Ryder Cup qualification with extra points available on both the European and World Points lists.
McIlroy is not someone who will be too worried about qualification for The Ryder Cup, but many of Europe’s star players including likes of Luke Donald, Victor Dubuisson, Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood, will all be looking for a big performance at Le Golf National to boost their hopes of joining McIlroy on Darren Clarke’s European team.
Rory McIlroy: “I’m happy to be back in France. I’ve been wanting to come back for a while and being the 100th anniversary and just two years to the Ryder Cup, I thought it was a good thing to come and support the tournament, support the European Tour and familiarise myself with the golf course for two years’ time.
“And the last time I played here, I finished one shot out of the play-off. I’ve shown some good form on this golf course, and hopefully I can continue that this week. If you can place your ball in the right positions off the tee, it’s very important. I don’t know how thick the rough is, but I’m imagining it will be pretty thick with all the rain that’s been here over the last few weeks.”
Martin Kaymer: “I’m glad this tournament has regained the prestige it deserved, because for me it’s definitely one of the very best events on the Tour. It’s the 100th anniversary this year and there’s so much to play for this week in terms of Ryder Cup and World Ranking points, so it’s a massive week for a lot of players.
“For me, it has a special meaning because I’ve won here in the past. The fans have always been very, very kind and very supportive of me. I really enjoy playing a challenging golf course. It’s not one of those courses where you need to shoot 20 under par to win. You really need to play good golf, and it’s not a putting competition.”
Victor Dubuisson: “It’s a very tough golf course. Every shot you miss, it’s probably going to mean at least a double bogey here. There’s so much pressure and danger on this golf course, especially on the last three or four holes. The scores are not going to be very low, so you just have to focus on hitting the fairway and greens, and hope you can make some putts. But I like that type of challenge, harder courses suit me.”
Enhancements for the 100th Open de France
- The 2016 Open de France will count as two tournaments played in the 2016 season towards each member’s minimum obligation of five tournaments.
- The tournament will be allocated points on the Ryder Cup World Points list, based on the Official World Golf Ranking points breakdown for a tournament whose winner earns 64 World Ranking points, unless the strength of field dictates a higher points allocation. (As a comparison, the 2015 Open de France winner earned 36 World Ranking points).
The tournament will be allocated six million points on the Ryder Cup European Points list, with the winner earning one million points. (This would normally be 3.5 million points to reflect each Euro of the 3.5 million prize fund equalling one point).
