By Will Pearson, europeantour.com
at Le Golf National
After a double bogey-bogey run during his back nine on Saturday, Andy Sullivan looked down and out of the 100th Open de France. That was until a moment of absolute magic with his final shot of the day.
Ranked the hardest hole on the European Tour last season, the 18th of L'Albatros at Le Golf National is a beastly par four; flanked by thick rough down the right and water down the left and and a not insignificant 471 yards in length, many a good round has come a cropper on this challenging closer over the years.
Two over par for the day after making a seven at the par five 14th and a bogey at the following hole, you could have forgiven Englishman Sullivan for looking something of a forlorn figure stepping onto the 18th tee.
But find the fairway he did - and that's where the fun began...
"On that hole you are literally trying to pick one off and finish with a par," he told us shortly afterwards. "Even with the good tee shot you don't expect to hole that. Even to hit it to 10-15 feet is a good shot.
"I think we had 186 [yards to the pin]. My caddie gave me a seven iron to start with because he thought it was a little downwind and I said 'no, it's off left', so I hit a high soft six.
"So I stood up and hit a high, cutting soft six and it landed perfectly. To finish with an eagle two is incredible and with the amphitheatre around the green the noise was amazing.
"To see it go in was unbelievable, especially after the few errant holes before it. Finishing like that will really make dinner taste a lot better!"
With the amphitheatre around the green the noise was amazing.
Andy Sullivan
The Smiling Assassin's superb eagle one of the most memorable shots on the 18th since Graeme McDowell made an albatross there in 2003 when the hole was still played as a par five.
In 2015, the 18th at Le Golf National beat out other brutal par fours such as the Road Hole on the Old Course at St Andrews for the title 'Most difficult hole on the European Tour' with an average score of 4.60.
Sullivan, meanwhile, will start the final day five shots behind leader Thongchai Jaidee but, as he knows better than anyone, anything can happen on this golf course, at any time.
"I thought if I hung in there today that I was always going to have a chance," he continued. "The last few weeks haven't been great but I feel I've been playing good.
"I know what I'm capable of and I know I can go out there and shoot a number tomorrow and get myself up the leaderboard."
