The third tournament on the Rolex Series will bring some of the best golfers in the world to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France for the HNA Open De France this week. The prestigious tournament will take place at Le Golf Nacional, which is just 20 miles southwest of the Paris city centre. It will mark the 26th time that this course hosted Europe’s most important national golf event and it has attracted another impressive field. Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Alex Noren and the defending champion Tommy Fleetwood will headline the field for this week’s tournament. We crunched the numbers and came up with the best approach to betting on the HNA Open De France this week. Betting odds are provided by BetDSI Sportsbook.
Event Details
Event: HNA Open De France
Category: European
Date: June 28th-July 1st, 2018
Location: Le Golf National, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
In addition to being the most prestigious, the HNA Open De France is also among the oldest European golf events dating back to 1906. The fact that it takes place a couple of weeks before the Open Championship is another reason why it usually attracts an impressive field. The biggest surprise is that Thomas is the only U.S. Ryder Cup candidate that will tee off this week given this is the venue for the biannual event just three months from now.
Past Five Winners
2017: Tommy Fleetwood -12
2016: Thongchai Jaidee -11
2015: Bernd Wiesberger -13
2014: Grame McDowell -9
2013: Marcel Siem -8
What To Know About The Course
Performance off the tee will be a key to success this week. A year ago, Fleetwood ranked 25th in Driving Distance and third for Driving Accuracy. The last 14 winners haven’t exactly dominated in terms of Driving Distance but they have put up solid Driving Accuracy numbers including a 21.1 average ranking. Eight of the last 13 winners here have ranked inside the top-three in Greens In Regulation including Fleetwood last year. The numbers indicate that putting won’t be the most important statistic this week for those that put up good numbers off the tee and Scrambling. However, those that do the best job on the greens should have an additional edge at Le Golf Nacional.
The Field
Thomas and Rahm are the sports betting favorites to win the HNA Open De France outright with both golfers listed at +1200 odds. Both golfers have the potential to absolutely run away with it this week so it will be interesting to see how they fare individually. Next up is the defending champion Fleetwood, who is listed at +1400 odds as he looks to successfully repeat in France. Alex Noren, Ian Poulter and Rafael Cabrera Bello round out the list of favorites to win this event ranging from +1600 to +2000 odds. Sergio Garcia is also expected to be in the mix in his course debut at +2200 odds to win outright.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Alex Noren over Jon Rahm
Rahm has the potential to absolutely shine this week. However, he will also have to deal with plenty of media distractions at a course he isn’t exactly overly familiar with. The fact that he is a co-favorite to win makes him an interesting option to fade with a capable contender in Noren. While Noren struggled in his first couple of starts at this tournament, he has placed in the top-10 in each of his last two appearances at the HNA Open De France. With favorable odds, Noren is a good bet to finish ahead of Rahm this week in France.
Top-Five Pick: Tommy Fleetwood
It isn’t easy to win an event in back-to-back years but Fleetwood certainly has the talent to contend at Le Golf Nacional again this week. The Englishman has been absolutely on fire this season including top-five finishes at the Players Championship, the U.S. Open and the BMW International Open. Considering his performance here last year and the class of field for this week’s event, Fleetwood should have no problem registering another top-five finish at the HNA Open De France this week.
