
The Open de France is a
European Tour
The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
tournament. Inaugurated in 1906 it is the oldest national open in
Continental Europe
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...
and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since the tour's inception in 1972. The 100th edition of the event was held in 2016. The 2022 edition will take place between 22 and 25 September on the Golf National course. There will be €3 million of prize fund. Last edition played was the 2019 tournament, won by
Nicolas Colsaerts.
Originally played at La Boulie, the tournament has been hosted by many different venues, but since 1991, it has been held at the
Le Golf National
The Albatros course at Le Golf National is an 18-hole golf course in France, southwest of central Paris. Designed by architects Hubert Chesneau and Robert von Hagge, in collaboration with Pierre Thevenin, it is located in Guyancourt.
Facilitie ...
near
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
every year except for 1999 and 2001.
Since the turn of the millennium, the
Fédération Française de Golf has made a concerted effort to enhance the stature of the event. In 2004 qualifying tournaments were introduced on the model of those for
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
and the
U.S. Open and were open to professionals and amateurs. The prize fund rose from €865,000 in 1999 to €4 million from 2006 to 2009, putting the Open de France in the top group of European Tour events (excluding the majors and the
World Golf Championships
The World Golf Championships (WGC) were a group of annual professional golf tournaments played from 1999 through 2023 created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more freque ...
, which are co-sanctioned by the U.S.-based
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
). The prize fund was €3 million in 2015 and €3.5 million in 2016. It rose to
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
7,000,000 in 2017 after joining the new Rolex Series. However the main sponsor of 2017 and 2018 editions:
HNA decided to cancel its budget. In 2019, the tournament took place in October. Since then it has no longer been a Rolex Series event. From 2014 to 2018, it was one of the Open Qualifying Series events for
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
with the leading three (four in 2016) players, who had not already qualified, qualifying for the Open. With a new sponsor for 2022 (
Cazoo
Cazoo is a British automotive online marketplace and classified advertising business based in Richmond, London, Richmond, London. Cazoo is currently owned by MOTORS, following its acquisition from Cazoo Holdings Limited by O3 Industries and Novum ...
) the prize fund was €3,000,000.
Venues
From 1970 to 1973 the first two rounds were played on two different courses, everyone playing one round on each course. After the cut, one of the courses was then used for the final two rounds. In 1970 Chantaco and Biarritz-Le Phare were used, with the final two rounds played at Chantaco. In 1971 La Nivelle and Biarritz-Le Phare were used, with the final two rounds played at Biarritz-Le Phare. In 1972 La Nivelle and Biarritz-Le Phare were used, with the final two rounds played at La Nivelle. In 1973, two courses at La Boulie were used, La Foret and La Vallee, with the final two rounds played on La Vallee.
Winners
Sources:
See also
*
Open golf tournament
An open golf tournament usually refers to a golf tournament in which all golfers may compete regardless of their professional or amateur status. Often there will be certain restrictions, commonly based on ability. Some amateur-only tournaments are ...
References
External links
*
Coverage on the European Tour's official site
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European Tour events
Golf tournaments in France
Recurring sporting events established in 1906
1906 establishments in France