DID YOU KNOW – ALSTOM OPEN DE FRANCE
• The Alstom Open de France is not only the oldest National Open Championship on Continental Europe, dating back to 1906, but also the richest, with a prize fund of €3,000,000. The 2013 event is the 97th staging of the tournament.
• Should Marcel Siem win for a second consecutive year, he would join fellow Germans Bernhard Langer (1981-82 and 1985-86 German Open) and Martin Kaymer (2010-11 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship), to win the same European Tour event in back-to-back seasons.
• History was created in the 1986 Open de France when Seve Ballesteros became the first player to successfully defend a European Tour title and win both in a wire-to-wire fashion, in 1985 and 1986.
• The 2008 champion, Pablo Larrazábal had to qualify to play in the event and became the first qualifier to win the Alstom Open de France. He then became just the then seventh qualifier in the history of The European Tour to win an event. His wire-to-wire triumph was the first by a rookie since Henrik Stenson at the 2001 Benson and Hedges International Open.
• The Alstom Open de France is used to high profile players winning the Championship. No less than 19 Major Champions have their name etched on the roll of honour.
• The Albatros Course at le Golf National will be the host venue for the Alstom Open de France for the 21st time. It was first used in 1991 when Eduardo Romero won the title. The venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup has always provided a stern test of golf. The lowest winning total is 269 by Pablo Larrazábal in 2008. The average winning score from the 20 previous years is 274.
