Frenchman Julien Guerrier is excited by the prospect of a new Challenge Tour tournament heading to his home club, Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil, in a fortnight’s time.
The 28 year old is the touring professional at the northern France venue, which is set to host the €160,000Le Vaudreuil Golf Challengefrom July 25-28.
The tournament is one of eight new venues on the 2013 schedule as the Challenge Tour continues to break new ground in Europe and beyond, adding to maiden visits to clubs in Spain, Austria, Germany, Northern Ireland, Ukraine, Oman and China.
“I’m very happy to be playing a Challenge Tour event at Le Vaudreuil and it will be nice to spend a week in familiar surroundings,” said Guerrier. “I know lots of people there and I should have some good support from friends and family.
“It wasn’t the course I grew up playing, but I was born nearby. I play there a lot these days as the touring pro and it’s a great course.”
Redesigned by Jean-Claude Forestier in 2008, the course is tree-lined and narrow with small greens, meaning accuracy is imperative.
“I’m curious about how they will prepare it for a Challenge Tour event,” Guerrier continued. “It should be quite easy, but they have the opportunity to make it difficult by making the greens hard. The greens are very small and quite high, so if they are firm it’s very difficult to keep the ball on the putting surface.
“I think the scoring will be very low. However, I never seem to shoot very low scores there. It can be a frustrating course – you think you can break it but it always finds a way to hurt you.
“Accuracy is the key to a good score. It’s quite tight and you have to be patient, otherwise one bad shot and you will be punished.”
The venue has a beautiful 17thCentury clubhouse, and is close to the picturesque town of Rouen.
Guerrier added: “It’s a very nice part of France and there is a lot to do in Rouen, which is only about 35 kilometres away. It’s a lovely area and I think everyone playing will like it.”
