Niall Lyons has picked out seven selections in the Open de France which will be held at Le Golf National, Paris.
Open de France
The FedEx Open de France will be held at Le Golf National, Paris.
Le Golf National is certainly one of the more challenging courses on the DP World Tour and the players will need to be extra careful with their approach play and be sound around the greens.
Long and straight from the tee certainly helps but I'd favour accuracy ever so slightly around here despite some of the ball busters making the frame here in the last couple of years.
Greens in Regulation is certainly a statistic high up the list of winners and contenders here whilst scrambling is also a big part of the equation.
Celtic Manor has many similarities even with the naked eye, but on paper it's a course that you can't ignore when analysing the Open de France.
McDowell, Jaidee and Noren have all won on both courses whilst a handful of others have solid form on both tracks.
This being one of the tougher tests out there it was no surprise to many that Migliozzi won in 2022 having finished 14th and 4th in the two previous US Open Championships.
McDowell won the US Open and the Welsh Open just weeks apart so anyone in this field who has form on either Celtic Manor or tough Major Championship courses must be closely watched
Below is a look at the stats for the top performers in this competition in the past three editions.
Open De France Tips
- 2pts each-way T.Detry 28/1 (1/5 6) General
- 1.5pts each-way M.Pavon 45/1 (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market
- 1pt each-way G.Green 80/1 (1/5 8) Skybet, Ladbrokes, Coral
- 1pt each-way M.Kinhult 80/1 (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market, Skybet
- 0.5pt each-way E.Molinari 300/1 (1/5 8) Skybet
- 0.25pt each-way C.Hanna 1500/1 (1/5 8) Skybet
- 0.5pt C.Hanna top 20 finish 22/1 Betvictor, Betfred
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Thomas Detry at 28/1 (Six Places)
It has coincided with deeper fields but since the Ryder Cup points race opened we have seen Matt Wallace, Rasmus Hojgaard and Tyrrell Hatton win whilst McIlroy and Rahm have both been runner ups.
A return to the Le Golf National will highlight the points race once again and if anyone is to respond to the call from near the top of the market it may just be Thomas Detry.
The Belgian hasn't quite got the credit for what was a solid season on the PGA Tour making the top 50 and securing nice privileges for next year.
He had numerous close calls the most memorable being Texas where he finished 1 shot off Jaeger.
He was maybe robbed of a big chance when he was 4th at the reduced 54 holes there whilst 4th in the PGA Championship was another fine result.
Those efforts give him the option to play these events now instead of the Fall events in the States and he really ought to take advantage.
It hasn't quite happened so far and a missed cut last week isn't much of a worry with a poor record at that event.
Le Golf National suits Detry much more having missed the cut only once in five appearances with an 8th place back in 2019.
He has a runner up finish at Celtic Manor back in 2020 also and he may take inspiration from his fellow countryman Colsaerts who very nearly landed the spoils at St Andrews.
Matthieu Pavon at 45/1 (Eight Places)
Matthieu Pavon has not put his best foot forward in recent weeks since his Tour Championship appearance but three made cuts in a row on the DPWT shows there's nothing overly worrying and a return to his native France may just be the kick he needs.
It must be said he has a poor record around this golf course but he does land here in 2024 a much improved golfer having reached the final 30 on the PGA Tour last month.
His iron play will certainly need to improve to win this but he's more than capable, as he showed when 5th at the US Open in June following a missed cut the previous week at Muirfield Village.
Migliozzi won here in 2022 following finishes of 4th and 14th in the US Open. McDowell also won here with a win and a runner up in two US Opens prior to his victory at this course.
Noren was 25th in the US Open before winning whilst Fleetwood was 4th at Erin Hills before winning here also.
The French was in closer proximity to that event which helps of course, but the signs remain there regardless and Pavon looks slightly overpriced to continue his fine year with a win on home soil.
Gavin Green at 80/1 (Eight Places)
Andrew Johnston has a 3rd place at Celtic Manor to his name so it would be no surprise to see him feature later on in the week. At a bigger price though I slightly prefer Gavin Green.
Green has missed his last two cuts but both been on the number with rallying second rounds.
He looks to be playing slightly better than those results suggest and prior to these it was a run of eight made cuts on the trot.
That's a sign that Green is maybe maturing and not just a long track bully. Long and straight driving has featured with a handful of contenders here over the last few years and should Green recapture a little of the approach play that had been faring so well all Summer then he could be in business here.
8th and 11th previously at Celtic Manor is a good sign and having made his last two cuts around this course I expect him to get back on track here.
Marcus Kinhult at 80/1 (Eight Places)
At still only 28 years of age Marcus Kinhult has the majority of his career still ahead of him and there are reasons to believe he could manage a good week here in Paris.
A former winner of the British Masters, Kinhult knows what it takes to win a prestigious event and should his iron play improve ever so slightly from recent outings then he could be in the mix on Sunday afternoon.
His irons were good despite a missed at the Irish Open and last time out we saw him finish 18th at the BMW PGA at Wentworth.
His irons weren't perfect that week but were ok and his prowess with the putter should be what sets him apart from most this week.
He has been 5th and 11th here in the past and had a decent Summer being beaten in a playoff in the KLM then 12th in Prague and 23rd at the Belfry. He's capable of better and this course is a good fit.
1pt each-way M.Kinhult 80/1 (1/5 8) Bet365 8 place market, Skybet
Edoardo Molinari at 300/1 (Eight Places)
It was heartwarming to see the performance of Nicolas Colsaerts last week and with a win here back in 2019 he can not be easily ruled out of a repeat performance and going well once again.
Last week we saw Brandt Snedeker land his first PGA Tour top 20 finish in two and a half years. That was off the back of being involved in the Presidents Cup team the week before.
There is no doubt this provides incentive and with some inspiration bagged he acquitted himself extremely well in Jackson.
It was only a few weeks ago that Andrew Johnston came back from the wilderness to almost win in the Swiss Mountains and it can't be ruled out that Colsaerts was buoyed by this.
A round with McIlroy on Wednesday certainly could have helped also. If there is one to pick up the baton in a similar fashion it may just be Edoardo Molinari and for me he's worth a small bet as a result.
He was a Vice Captain alongside Colsaerts in Rome last time out and it'd be no surprise should Colsaert's near miss give Dodo some hope.
He doesn't have a good record around here but he does have two top 5s at Celtic Manor and he returns to a Ryder Cup venue this week which demands a good deal of accuracy off the tee.
Similar applies in Crans and he was 12th there last month in a similar field to what presents itself here. It's a shot in the dark but there is method behind the madness.
Chase Hanna at 1500/1 (Eight Places) & 22/1 (Top 20)
Chase Hanna shot 7 under par last week and although he missed the cut there were positives and his iron play has been ok this last month or so.
Four dropped shots in the space of four holes in round 3 last week cost him making the cut comfortably.
6th at Celtic Manor in 2021 is a fair positive and there is reason to believe he may produce one of his better weeks here in Paris.
At humongous odds he may be a look in the top 20/40 market also and I'll have a small hail mary bet here.
0.25pt each-way C.Hanna 1500/1 (1/5 8) Skybet
0.5pt C.Hanna top 20 finish 22/1 Betvictor, Betfred
