The DP World Tour Open de France, held at Le Golf National, has now concluded. Le Golf National is one of the most prestigious golf courses in Europe. It has two 18-hole courses, of which the Albatros Course is the most challenging and complex, and has hosted many major international events, including the 2018 Ryder Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympic Golf Tournament. Albatros Course is part of Le Golf National and is known for its high difficulty and extreme challenge. It was designed by Hubert Chesneau and has multiple water hazards and bunkers as well as a turret green built on an elevated ground. The design is designed to provide ideal viewing and broadcasting conditions for major championships, making it one of the most prestigious courses in Paris. The 2018 Ryder Cup, where the European team defeated the American team with a score of 17.5-10.5, will always be remembered here. Over the past two decades, the famous 18th hole has produced many unforgettable moments, the most unforgettable of which is Guido Migliozzi's magical shot in 2022. When he stood on the 18th hole in the final round, he and Rasmus Højgaard were tied for the lead. The green of the 18th hole was an island green surrounded by water, which was extremely difficult and not a good choice for a breakthrough. However, Guido Migliozzi hit the green directly with his second shot on this par-4 hole and made an accurate birdie putt. The birdie on this hole allowed him to defeat Rasmus Højgaard and win the game.

Open de France History

Open de France is an important event on the European Tour of golf, with a long history and tradition. It is one of the oldest national golf championships in continental Europe. The first competition began in 1906, when French golf giant Arnaud Massy won the championship. In 1907, he successfully defended his title and became the first foreign player to win the British Open. The event was forced to be interrupted during World War I and World War II, but was restored after the war. In 1996, the famous Australian player Robert Allenby won the Open de France. The total prize money was 840,000 euros, and he personally took 140,000 euros. In 2008, Spanish player Pablo Larazaabal won the Open de France, which was only his 17th European Tour event. He handed in 67 strokes in the final round, with a total score of 269 strokes, leading eight-time European Tour champion Colin Montgomerie by four strokes. Open de France has undergone many changes, including changes in sponsors and increases in prize money. Starting in 2004, the tournament adopted the qualifying system used by the British Open and the US Open, open to both professional and amateur players. In 2006, after the sponsorship was changed to Alstom, the total prize money of the tournament reached 4 million euros, a huge increase from 15,428 euros when it joined the European Tour in 1972. In 2021, due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, the Open de France was once forced to cancel, but it returned from May 6-9, 2021 and was held at Le Golf National.

Open de France Highlights

Round 1. The first round of the Open de France saw a fierce battle on the leaderboard, with Joe Dean, Thorbjørn Olesen and Jesper Svensson tied for the lead with a score of -6. Leif Greenwood, Yannik Paul, Fabrizio Zanotti, Adrien Saddier and Nicola Hojgaard tied for fourth. Joe Dean made a wonderful eagle on the par-5 3rd hole, and then caught 4 birdies in succession without bogeys, ending the game with a wonderful -6. Thorbjørn Olesen scored 7 birdies and 1 bogey in the first round, a score of -6. The 34-year-old Thorbjørn Olesen has won 8 DP World Tour titles before and is an experienced veteran. He is currently ranked 33rd in the Dubai Race Points. Jesper Svensson also ended the first round with 7 birdies and 1 bogey, and is currently ranked ninth in the Dubai Race Points. He was very satisfied with his first round performance: "Today's start was really good, I played two good shots, and then it was also good in the final stage, I made a few good putts." Haotong Li caught 6 birdies from the 9th hole to the 17th hole. In these 17 holes, Haotong Li did not have a bogey. Unfortunately, his second shot on the 18th hole accidentally went into the water and he had a double bogey. However, he made up for it and went directly to the green with one shot over the water. The landing point was accurate and only two yards away from the hole. He is currently ranked T7 with a score of -4. Wu Ashun got 1 birdie in the first round and swallowed 3 bogeys, ranking T85 with a score of +2. In addition, Lev Grinberg, a 16-year-old Ukrainian player, also performed well in the leaderboard. He caught three consecutive birdies twice in the first round, from holes 6 to 8 and from holes 14 to 16, and only swallowed one bogey. He led all professional players with a score of -5 and tied for fourth place with four other players. Guido Migliozzi, the champion of the 2022 Open de France, had 6 birdies and 3 bogeys today, finishing T18th with a score of -3.

Round 2. The first place in the second round of Open de France was shared by English player Dan Bradbury, Belgian player Thomas Detry and Swedish player Jesper Svensson, with a total score of -9. Thorbjorn Olesen tied for fourth place with English player Paul Waring, Paraguayan player Fabricio Zanotti, Swedish player Simon Forsstrom and Danish player Rasmus Højgaard with a total score of 8 under par. Thomas Detry started from the 1st hole and made a birdie putt at 1 yard from the hole on the 2nd hole, and then caught 3 birdies in succession before the turn. After the turn, Thomas Detry used a 120-yard shot to the position of 1 yard from the hole on the 12th hole and successfully caught birdies. He successfully caught birdies on 4 standard 4-par holes, and finally got a flawless score of 8 birdies, and once again led the course with a score of 8 under par. Jesper Svensson started from the 10th hole. Although he unfortunately swallowed a bogey on the 18th hole, he successfully caught birdies on the 12th and 14th holes. After the transition, Jesper Svensson continued to maintain a good state. Although he unfortunately swallowed a bogey on the last hole, he successfully caught a birdie on the 2nd hole with a 196-yard shot to the position 1 yard away from the hole, and successfully caught birdies on the 5th and 7th holes. In the end, he tied for first place with a score of -3 with 5 birdies and 2 bogeys. Dan Bradbury caught two birdies and swallowed a bogey before the transition. After the transition, Dan Bradbury began to exert his strength and successfully caught an eagle on the 14th hole. Then he caught 2 birdies in a row. In the end, he led with Thomas Detry and Jesper Svensson with a score of -5 with 1 eagle, 4 birdies and 1 bogey. Rasmus Højgaard caught 7 birdies and swallowed 2 bogeys in the game, and finally got 66 strokes, with a total score of -8, ranking T4. Thorbjorn Olesen got 5 birdies, 1 bogey and 1 double bogey, and tied for fourth place with a total score of -8. Wu Ashun successfully caught a birdie after starting from the 1st hole. Although he unfortunately swallowed a bogey before the turn, he had already caught 3 birdies before that. After the turn, Wu Ashun caught three birdies in succession, and finally finished the game with a score of -6 with 7 birdies and 1 bogey. He is currently ranked T25 on the leaderboard. Li Haotong caught a total of 3 birdies in 18 holes, swallowed 2 bogeys and 1 double bogey, and finally ranked T35 with a total score of -3.

 Round 3. After three rounds, Jesper Svensson got a total score of -13 and ranked first. Thorbjorn Olesen and England's Sam Bostwick tied for second with a total score of -12. Dan Bradbury and Joe Dean ranked fourth with a total score of -11. Wu Ashun and Li Haotong ranked T46 and T50 respectively. Jesper Svensson entered this round as a co-leader. He caught 4 birdies in the first 9 holes. After the transition, he made a 4-yard birdie putt on the 13th hole and ranked first with a total score of -13. Wu Ashun caught birdies at the beginning, but suffered bogeys on the 5th and 6th holes, and then another bogey on the 8th hole. Fortunately, he caught a birdie on the 9th hole. Entering the last 9 holes, he caught 2 birdies on the 10th and 11th holes, but unfortunately he suffered a bogey on the 16th hole. In the end, he got 4 birdies and 4 bogeys, par for the score, and ranked T46 with a total score of -4. Haotong Li was in good form in the first 9 holes, catching 4 birdies, but unfortunately he also had 2 bogeys. In the last 9 holes, he unfortunately made mistakes and had 3 bogeys, only catching 1 birdie, and finally a total score of -3, ranking T50. Thorbjorn Olesen's form improved in the third round, catching 2 birdies in the first 9 holes and 2 birdies in the last 9 holes, and got a score of -4 with 4 birdies and no bogeys. The total score of -12 ranked T2, becoming the closest pursuer to the leader. Although Sam Bostwick only caught a birdie on the 1st hole in the first 9 holes, he went all out in the last 9 holes. After the transition, he caught 2 birdies in a row on the 10th and 11th holes, and then hit a 19-yard eagle on the 14th hole, and then caught another birdie on the 15th hole, ending the game with a flawless score of -6 with 1 eagle, 4 birdies and no bogeys, and tied for second place with Thorbjorn Olesen, only 1 stroke behind the leader.

 Final. Dan Bradbury won the championship with a total score of -16, surpassing the leading group. Thorbjorn Olesen, Sam Bostwick, Yannik Paul, and Jeff Winther tied for second place with a one-stroke difference. Dan Bradbury entered the final round tied for fourth place, two strokes behind the leader, and his perfect score of 5 birdies and 0 bogeys enabled him to successfully overtake and win the championship. The process of winning the championship was not smooth sailing. His first shot on the 15th hole almost fell into the water, but his second shot directly hit the green, leaving a birdie putt less than 5 yards from the hole to turn the tide. This is the second DP World Tour championship trophy won by 25-year-old Dan Bradbury. After winning the championship, his ranking in the Dubai Competition Points Ranking jumped from 98th to 25th. The victory in this game also qualified him to participate in the Abu Dhabi Championship and the DP World Tour Championship. Haotong Li shot 69 strokes, 2 strokes under par, in the final. He hit the ball into the water on the first hole by mistake and took double bogey. Then he quickly adjusted his state and did not have bogey in the next 17 holes. He also caught birdies on holes 6, 8, 9 and 14, and finally ranked tied for T49. Wu Ashun tied for T49 with Haotong Li. After he shot -6 strokes with 7 birdies and 1 bogey in the second round, he once again played a negative score in the final round, and got 6 birdies, 3 bogeys and 1 double bogey, and a score of -1 stroke. In addition to the champion Dan Bradbury, Jeff Winther also performed very well in the final round. He caught 7 birdies in the last round and did not have bogeys. With the lowest score of -7 strokes in the final round, he moved up 13 places in the ranking and tied for second place. As the leader for three rounds, Jesper Svensson's final result was regrettable. He had a bogey on the first hole. First, he almost hit the ball into the water with his tee shot, and then a putt error on the green was another blow. Then he just caught two birdies on holes 2 and 6, but then he had 4 bogeys and 1 double bogey. In the end, he ended with a dismal score of +5 strokes, 2 birdies, 5 bogeys and 1 double bogey, and ranked T27 with a total score of -8 strokes.

Conclusion

As the curtain slowly falls on the 2024 Open de France, we are once again impressed by the elegance and passion of golf. In this world-class event, we have witnessed countless wonderful moments. Every precise shot and clever chip made by the players on the green field has made us have a deeper understanding and love of this sport. For those golf lovers who can't go to the golf course in person, don't regret it, because the fun of golf is never limited to the golf course. Now, with various golf practice nets and related equipment, you can build your own mini golf course in your backyard or even in your living room. Whether it is practicing the strength of the swing or mastering the delicacy of the putt, you can improve it in your own golf corner. So, let's turn our love for golf into action and buy a set of golf practice nets to turn a corner of your home into your private practice range. Here, every swing is not hindered by wind and rain, and every progress is worth celebrating. Remember, the joy of golf is everywhere, as long as you want, your backyard can also become your Grand Slam venue. Let's continue on the road of golf and enjoy the infinite fun brought by every swing!