By Mathieu Wood
While some competing in the men’s golf competition at the Olympic Games are breaking new ground, for others it is a return to familiar territory.
As host venue to the FedEx Open de France on the DP World Tour since before the turn of the century, and scene of the 2018 Ryder Cup, Le Golf National is no stranger to welcoming the world’s best.
But for a quintet of European golfers, it evokes fond recent memories of both personal and shared stories of success.
In the 60-strong field set to tee it up this week are three of the last five winners of France’s national Open, namely Team Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood, Sweden’s Alex Noren and Italy’s Guido Migliozzi.
Fleetwood and Noren, winners over back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018 respectively, were also part of the victorious European Ryder Cup team from almost six years ago. But they are not alone.
Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Thorbjørn Olesen were also part of Thomas Bjørn’s winning European team of 2018 and return to France with Olympic goals to realise. With top-five finishes to their name at continental Europe’s oldest national title, belief in their medal chances will only be bolstered.
So, while it is almost six years on, the memories of euphoria for the five victorious members of Team Europe competing at this summer’s Games are likely to be palpable.
By comparison, nobody from that U.S. Team is playing here this week.
The men’s Olympic Team USA quartet may feature World Number One Scottie Scheffler, defending gold medallist Xander Schauffele, and a pair of major champions in Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa, but competitive experience at one of golf’s most respected courses is something they do not possess.
Measuring 7,247 yards, the Albatros course at Le Golf National annually presents one of the toughest examinations players face on the DP World Tour.
Across the four days of play in last year’s Open de France, only four players managed four under-par rounds. When Noren won in 2018, he did so with a winning total of 7-under par.
Over recent months, several DP World Tour players have spoken of their respect for the challenge the course poses.
Described by some as a “beast,” it is perhaps the final four holes – three of which feature water – that ensure it is regarded as a great championship course.
“I think it has one of the best finishing stretch of holes we have in golf anywhere in the world,” said India’s Shubhankar Sharma.
Drama is unlikely to be in short supply.
You only need to look back to the 2022 edition of the Open de France, for an insight into just what might be in store. With nine birdies in the final 13 holes of his final round, the last of which came courtesy of an incredible 4-iron, Migliozzi catapulted to the summit of the leaderboard after beginning the day five shots off the lead.
Migliozzi, who won his fourth DP World Tour title last month at the KLM Open, will be dreaming of having the chance to repeat his brilliance at one of the continent's toughest closing holes on Sunday.
But to do so the talented Italian will have to match up against a men’s field that features eight of the top 10 on the Official World Golf Ranking, with 32 DP World Tour members on show.
Among those are French duo Matthieu Pavon and Victor Perez, who will shoulder the hopes of a nation in the men’s competition as golf looks to build upon the success of the previous two Olympic golf competitions at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
While in 2016 a new course was designed specifically for the Olympics, and in 2020 the majority of the field had never played at the venue, here is a course that almost everyone will be familiar with, even if from afar.
So, with the stage set, and the build-up nearing an end, what remains to be seen is whether course knowledge proves crucial in players’ quest for gold.
