Phil Golding returns to Paris aiming for another victory on French soil at the Paris Legends Championship at Racing Club de France La Boulie.
Golding has tasted success three times in France at the 2014 French Riviera Masters on the over-50’s circuit, the Open de France on the European Tour in 2003, and the Open des Volcans on the European Challenge Tour in 1999.
The French capital has been a happy hunting ground for the Englishman following his second and third place results at the Paris Legends Championships in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
The Paris Legends Championship has ventured five miles north of its previous home Le Golf National, after the course hosted The 42ndRyder Cup, where Team Europe beat Team USA 17.5 – 10.5. The 2018 championship takes place at Racing Club de France La Boulie with Golding looking forward to the challenge as La Boulie makes its debut on the Staysure Tour.
“I like France and I like Paris,” he said. “Paris was good two weekends ago for The Ryder Cup, I was there, and it was brilliant – well done lads. It’s always nice coming back to Paris after winning at Le Golf National, plus we’ve got good weather this week.
“This is a new course to me, so I went around it in the buggy yesterday and had a look. It’s a different course, it’s old fashioned and quite quirky in places but it’s a challenging course because you’ll have to shape the ball a bit, which is nice, and I like that.
“They’ll be a few left to right, right to left shots, and there are a few funky greens out there with a few tiers to them. You’ve got to be careful with your club selection to allow for the back spin.
Unlike some of the courses the players face on the Staysure Tour, Golf de La Boulie features tight fairways lined with pine trees but with minimal rough. However, the greens are elevated and comprise of several tiers to test the players’ accuracy it is something which Golding is eager to experience.
“I’m looking forward to it. It’s a different course to what we’ve been playing recently,” he said.
“The last time we played a course like this would’ve been at Woburn with the pine trees. You have clear definition off the tee of what you need to do. You have to commit to the shot and know what shape you’ve got to hit it, but you need to know where your misses are because if you overturn it either side you’ll be blocked out for your second or third shot.
“I’m playing the Pro-Am today, so I’ll try one or two different selections off the tee. I made lots of notes when I went around the course yesterday. It’s different to what we normally play but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
