The European Tour moves to Paris for the HNA Open de France, which was first played in 1906 in Versailles and was held there 20 times, the second-most of any venue. The leader is Le Golf National, which will host the tournament for the 25th time and has every year since 2002. Argentina’s Andreas Romero will lead the field out in France after winning the BMW International last weekend in Germany.
Details
Event: HNA Open de France
Category: European Tour
Date: June 29 – July 2
Location: Le Golf National
Le Golf National can play tough as there have been single-digit winners in four of the last six years, although the last two years have had double-digit winners. Since 2002, the lowest score has been -15 and that was set twice, by England’s Philip Golding in 2003 and Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal in 2008.
Past Five Winners
2016: Thongchai Jaidee -11
2015: Bernd Wiesberger -13
2014: Graeme McDowell -5
2013: Graeme McDowell -9
2012: Marcel Siem -8
The Field
Jon Rahm is one of our favorites this week, but he comes into the tournament in a bit of a funk. While he’ll be making his 2017 debut on the EPGA Tour, he’s actually missed the cut in his last two events on the PGA Tour. He failed to make the cut at the Memorial as well as the U.S. Open.
Right behind him in terms of the odds is Italian Francesco Molinari, who has also struggled of late. He similarly missed the cut at the U.S. Open. However, he had four straight Top 25 finishes on the PGA Tour before that, which included at sixth-place result at the PLAYERS Championship.
The other three players in the top five are Berd Wiesberger, Tommy Fleetwood and Alex Noren. Noren is coming off a missed cut at the 2017 U.S. Open but had placed 10th at the PGA Championship before that.
What To Know About The Course
Le Golf National’s Albatros course is a par-71 and is 7,247 yards long, and if you haven’t seen this course before, this is the time to get a good look at it before it hosts the Ryder Cup in 2018. There have been some renovations to the course as it has some drainage problems, but it is fine now. There are at least six holes in which water will be an issue for the players, and there are some new bunkers as well as fairways that might punish you even with a good shot. Last, but not least, the greens can be very fast and from tee-to-green, Le Golf National is one of the toughest tests not only on the European Tour, but in the world.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Francesco Molinari over Jon Rahm
Italy’s Molinari has been off since missing the cut at the U.S. Open, but prior to that he had finished in the top 25 in four starts in a row, and he finished solo second at the BMW PGA Championship. Rahm, who hails from Spain, is making his debut on the European Tour after missing two cuts in a row, which followed two top-five finishes in three starts. Rahm blows very hot and cold, and when he gets mad, it takes away from his game, which could hurt at a venue like Le Golf National. Molinari finished solo second to Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee last year and shot a 66 in the final round.
Top-Five Pick: Bernd Wiesberger
Wiesberger won this tournament in 2015 with a fantastic -13 and was T-11 here last year. He is coming off a T-20 at the BMW International Open last week, his third top-20 in a row and he has finished in the top 30 in each of his last six starts, which includes a win at the Shenzhen International. The Austrian is as tough as they come and always seems to give himself a chance to make a move.
Odds To Win 2017 HNA Open de France
Jon Rahm +1050
Francesco Molinari +1250
Brend Wiesberger +1650
Tommy Fleetwood +1850
Alex Noren +1850
Thomas Pieters +2250
Martin Kaymer +2550
Shane Lowry +2550
Tyrrell Hatton +2550
Joost Luiten +3250
Lee Westwood +3250
Ian Poulter +3250
Matthew Fitzpatrick +3250
Dylan Frittelli +3250
George Coetzee +3550
Andy Sullivan +3550
Chris Wood +3550
Graeme McDowell +4050
Ross Fisher +4050
Pablo Larrazabal +4550
Kiradech Aphibarnrat +4550
Thongchai Jaidee +4550
Soren Kjeldsen +5050
Alexander Levy +5050
Victor Dubuisson +5050
Thorbjorn Olesen +5500
Hao Tong Li +5500
David Lipsky +6550
Nicolas Colsaerts +6550
Jamie Donaldson +6550
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