Mike Lorenzo-Vera knows he faces a big test this week at Le Golf National but he is determined to enjoy himself on home turf at the 100th Open de France.
The flamboyant Frenchman made the cut at his home event for the first time in six attempts last year and he did it in some style, securing a top ten finish as Bernd Wiesberger took home the title.
He arrives in Paris off the back of a top ten at the BMW International and with his other top ten finish this season coming on another difficult track at the Real Club Valderrama Open de España, Hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation, he is used to tough challenges.
"I had a really good year last year," he said. "I finished sixth and I was very happy but normally I miss the cut every time so I'm just going to try to keep those good memories here and try to have fun with the public because they are really nice to me. I'll try to please them with my game.
Normally the biggest challenge for your game is the driving, the irons, the chipping and the putting; the mental and the physical, that's all. Very simple - Mike Lorenzo-Vera
"It tests everything. Your patience, your quality of striking, your driving, your putting, everything is under pressure here so you need to be a complete player to be able to do well here."
Grégory Bourdy also arrives in some form with four consecutive top 20s under his belt and the four-time European Tour winner is delighted a strong field has been assembled to boost the appeal of French golf.
"It's quite something the 100th edition. For me it's one of my favourite tournaments, especially on this course," he said.
"It's a beautiful course. A few good changes this year so I think it's going to be a great edition with a big field. Rory (McIlroy) is playing, Danny (Willett), Lee (Westwood). It's a great field, a big tournament and it's good for golf in France.
"It is quite a difficult course so you have to play with confidence but not too aggressively. It has difficult tee shots and the most important thing is to find the fairway and play a solid game."
Ryder Cup hero Victor Dubuisson began the season with a tie for fourth at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and although he is yet to threaten the upper echelons since, he feels his game is coming together.
"I didn't play really well since the beginning of the season but, you know, that's golf," said the home favourite. "I feel like I'm playing better now. My driving is really good so then it is just about putting.
"You never know, sometimes with golf, you just have a good event and sometimes you're not playing well for a few months, so you just have to be patient.
"It's a tough course. Every shot you miss is at least a double-bogey here. It's a lot of pressure on this course, and you know the scores are not going to be very low. Just focusing on hitting the fairway and greens."
