England’s Tommy Fleetwood will launch his defence of the HNA Open de France in the company of American Justin Thomas and Frenchman Alexander Levy when play gets under way on Thursday in Paris.
With many of golf’s great and good assembled at Le Golf National for the third Rolex Series event of the year, the reigning Race to Dubai champion will attempt to defend his second title of the season after doing just that in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.
Fleetwoodwill tee off at 08.00 on Thursday alongside World Number TwoThomas, this week making his debut in the Open de France, plus home favourite and five-time European Tour winnerLevy.
Elsewhere, two-time Rolex Series winnerJon Rahm is back in action on European soil for the first time since winning the Open de España in April. The World Number Five is out at 13.00 on Thursday with fellow young EuropeansMatt FitzpatrickandTyrrell Hatton.
Sergio Garcia
, who is remarkably playing the Open de France for the first time in his career this week, tees off at 13.10 in the company of long-time Ryder Cup team-mate
Lee Westwood
and Sweden’s
Alex Noren
, while in the following group out at 13.10, 2009 Open de France winner
Martin Kaymer
hits the Albatros Course at 13.20 with South Africa’s
Dylan Frittelli
and last week’s winner at the BMW International Open,
Matt Wallace
.
After winning his fifth European Tour title at the last Rolex Series event a few weeks back, Italian Open championThorbjørn Olesen continued his June form by shooting a final round 61 to finish runner-up last week in Cologne.
The Dane is off at 08.20 on Thursday morning with Belgium’sThomas Pietersand Spain’sRafa Cabrera Bello, who finished eighth and fourth in the first two Rolex Series events of the season.
Twice a winner here in 2013 and 2014,Graeme McDowell hits the fairways at 08.10 with 2010 Ryder Cup team-matesIan Poulter andRoss Fisher, while Scotland’sRussell Knoxis out at 07.50 alongside China’sLi Haotong and India’sShubhankar Sharma.
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