By David Ferguson
The Open de France is one of the Premier Tournaments in Europe, as it goes to some trouble to inform the public. The club itself, at the French National Golf Centre, could hardly wish for a more illustrious neighbour, sited as it is in the vicinity of the Palace of Versailles on the outskirts of Paris.
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Golf National de France - an intriguing combination of moorland and parkland features. [China.org.cn]
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And the course is a beauty – an imaginative combination of moorland that conjures up thoughts of the best of Scotland, alongside the luxury of typical French chateau parkland clubs, and the water that is often a predominant feature there. The box-like form of the Novotel that forms the main clubhouse building is therefore a rather odd contrast, suggesting neither Scottish Castle nor French chateau.
The yellow blossoms of the ubiquitous broom and the steep slopes of the fairways call to mind Scottish Highland courses like Gleneagles, although you would be unlikely to find the three-meter high growth of the Gold National so far north. The other feature that recalls the Scottish moorland is the rough – real rough. Off the fairway one is very soon into the thick stuff, and a little too far off the fairway the thick stuff becomes waist-high.
Meanwhile, where there is no moor there is water, garnished with lilies, bulrushes, and croaking frogs.
Unlike on many of the courses that are visited by the professionals of the Tour, neither the rough nor the water are there for decoration. They come very much into play, as more than one competitor found to his cost on the first day.
One of the top players in the field, England's Ian Poulter, was in the water twice on the par-4 18th, from both his tee-shot and his approach. New Zealand's Mark Brown, well-known on the Asian tour, had a disastrous 8 as early as the par-3 second, finding water three times off the tee. He could not remedy the damage in the rest of his round, finishing on eight-over, and his Open de France was pretty much over before it started.
And Oliver Wilson had a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 7th, unable to move his ball twice after finding thick rough off the tee. Wilson's play is so good and so consistent that he is high in the money list, playing in the Ryder Cup last year and qualified for all the majors. It must be a source of great frustration that he merits the undoubted title of the best player in the world never to have won a tournament. Having been well-placed at three-under with four to play; he was grateful to finish with a birdie at one-over and still with the prospect of being around for the weekend.
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First-round leader Martin Kaymer has plenty to smile about. [China.org.cn]
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The early conditions were perfect – warm and still, if a little humid, and the early starters took full advantage. Martin Kaymer finished the day in a commanding lead; his first round total of 62 equaled the course record, despite starting with a bogey on his first hole, the tenth. Matin had suffered an up-and-down preparation for the event. He missed the practice rounds due to business commitments, and as a result he forced himself to play the pro-am on Wednesday in agony from a blister that eventually required medical intervention.
"I was experiencing unbelievable pain in my right foot," he explained. "I had to cut a hole in my shoe in order to play in the pro-am at all, but I had to do it because I missed the practice rounds. Afterwards I went to see the tour doctor and he cut open the blister – that seems to have helped. I was ok today – it's a question of stance. As long as you're not standing on too steep a slope and putting pressure on the right foot, then it's ok."
Avoiding the slopes on the Golf National course can hardly have been the easiest of tasks, but Martin seems to have made a pretty good go of it. He had two runs of three consecutive birdies, and bagged an eagle on the difficult par-5 third to boot.
"I found the rough off the tee, so there was no chance of getting up in two. Sure enough, I was short with my 3-wood approach and left with a tricky chip of 15 to 20 meters over sand. But I hit it perfectly and it dropped."
Kaymer's round was exceptional, and even he would hardly expect to repeat it again this week. It was good enough to give him a three-shot lead over the nearest of his morning challengers, Rafa Echenique of Argentina and John Bickerton of England being two of them.
