Lowdown: The European Tour travels across the channel this week for the Alstom Open de France at Le Golf National, outside Paris. Thomas Levet is defending champion and a strong field has assembled to battle for a sizeable prize-fund.
The French Open is the oldest national open on continental Europe. It was first contested at La Boulie in 1906 and was won by home player Arnaud Massy. He took his national title three more times, lastly in 1925 when he was 48-years-old.
The French Open has been a fixture on the European Tour schedule since 1972. It's one of the most prestigious events on the circuit and has been won by Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Greg Norman and Colin Montgomerie amongst others.
Levet has now recovered from that injury and will return to the scene of last year's glory carrying great memories.
"I compare that day to riding the Tour de France," he said. "To win our national open is very special and particularly there, as I used to play golf 10 minutes from Le Golf National and lived just 15 minutes away."
Venue: Le Golf National, Paris, France Date: Jul 5-8 Course stats: par 71, 7,347 yards Purse: €3,150,000 Winner: €525,000 Defending Champion: Thomas Levet (-7)
Player Watch: Mark Foster - The Englishman was runner-up in this event last year and comes into this year's tournament on fine form: He was fifth in last week's Irish Open. He's a steady player who finds a high % of greens in regulation. Only 14 men have found more on the 2012 European Tour.
Martin Kaymer - The German hasn't had a great season to this point. He was, however, 15th in the US Open and showed signs there of a return to form. Not only is he a past winner of this event, (back in 2009,) he was also fourth in last year's tournament and finished sixth in 2010.
Lee Westwood - He continues to be one of, if not the most consistent golfers in the world. He won the Nordea Masters before finishing 10th in the US Open. He'll be looking for a win here as perfect preparation towards the Open Championship.
