The final instalment of the Challenge Tour’s Gallic Quintet, the Allianz Golf Open de Lyon, is almost upon us and with only two events of the 2011 season after it, its new location on the Schedule means the event carries more importance than ever before.
And with a strong field of Frenchmen all vying for a place on next year’s European Tour there will be no shortage of home interest.
First staged in 2008, the tournament is played over the par 71 Golf du Gouverneur course in Monthieux, and its short list of previous winners shows just how significant a scalp a win here can be, with all three former victors going on to secure their cards for the following year’s European Tour.
Winner of the inaugural event in 2008 was England’s David Horsey, who went on to top the 2008 Challenge Tour Order of Merit with €144,118, €32,000 of which came courtesy of his one shot victory in Lyon.
The title represented Horsey’s second victory of the season and effectively captured his 2009 European Tour exemption, and the Stockport man hasn’t looked back since then, going on to win the BMW International Open in 2010 and the 2011 Trophée Hassan II in Morocco.
There was a home winner in 2009 as Alexandre Kaleka completed a wire-to-wire victory in what was his first professional appearance, and the Frenchman also claimed his European Tour card for the following season. Kaleka secured his biggest pay-day to date in this year’s Irish Open where he tied for fifth place.
There was high drama in the final day of last year’s Allianz Golf Open de Lyon, as the Sunday yielded what was, at the start of the day, an unlikely winner.
Starting the day tied for 11th place, Austrian Bernd Wiesberger posted a scintillating nine under par 62, a course record, to win the event by two shots from Swede Joel Sjölholm, whose final-round six under par 65 was incredibly not good enough.
Wiesberger has had a superb season this year on The European Tour and currently sits at 70th in the Race to Dubai, having accrued €333,357.
The omens are good, then, for whoever takes the spoils next week in Monthieux.
Looking to follow in the footsteps of their countryman, Kaleka, are a French contingent that have this season been topping the leaderboards with increasing regularity.
Benjamin Hebert is one man who won’t be featuring next week after already claiming three victories in 2011, automatically propelling the Brive man into The European Tour ranks, but there are a whole host of his compatriots looking to add to their already-stellar seasons on home soil.
Edouard Dubois is one victory away from also automatically securing his European Tour card for next season having already won this year in the Kärnten Golf Open in Austria and the Scottish Hydro Challenge. Dubois is currently eighth in the Challenge Tour Rankings and would love to join Hebert in the top tier of European golf with victory in Lyon.
Two places down the Challenge Tour Rankings at tenth is Charles-Edouard Russo who, despite not having won, has had a solid season, making 13 cuts including three top-ten finishes. Russo still retains a slim chance of topping the Challenge Tour Order of Merit and a positive start to the run-in could be in the offing in France next week.
Further examples of the strength of the French ensemble making waves on the Challenge Tour this season are 15th place Anthony Snobeck, who won the Mugello Tuscany Open in May, and Julien Quesne, who despite having posted six top-ten finishes in 2011 is currently languishing just outside the 20 top spots that guarantee ascent onto The European Tour, so the man from Le Mans will be doubly determined when stepping out at Golf du Gouverneur on Thursday.
And with François Delamontagne, Victor Riu and Christophe Brazillier also still within shooting distance of the all-important top-20, there is no shortage of home-grown candidates for victory.
With such a strong home field all gunning for glory and a spot alongside golf’s elite, this year’s Allianz Golf Open de Lyon promises to provide intrigue and entertainment at every turn.
Allez les bleus.
