Open de France 2019: George Coetzee, Ryan Fox jump into early lead in Paris
By Matt Coles
South Africa’s George Coetzee and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox lead the way after the opening round of the Amundi Open de France, held at the wonderful Le Golf National.
The pair of George Coetzee and Ryan Fox each carded opening rounds of 65 to co-lead the 2019 Open de France. Coetzee already has four European Tour victories to his name, while Fox is looking for his maiden title.
The South African went out in 31 this morning, thanks to five birdies on his front nine. He added two more on the back nine, but a bogey five on the 17th dropped him back to -6.
Fox, on the other hand, had his solitary bogey on the par-4 13th, before a birdie on the par-3 16th brought him back up to -6, following a front nine of 31, like Coetzee.
Richie Ramsay, Kurt Kitayama and Benjamin Hebert sit in a tie for third at -5, with the latter pair both moving into the top ten on the Race to Dubai standings if they were to stay where they are.
The American is coming off the back of a third place finish at the Italian Open last week, which moved him inside the top 15. Meanwhile, Hebert currently sits just two places below Kitayama in the Race to Dubai standings.
Ramsay, on the other hands, is outside the top 50 on the Race To Dubai list, but he compiled a solid round of five-under-par at Le Golf National on Thursday afternoon.
A South African trio of Darren Fichardt, Jaco van Zyl and Justin Walters are in amongst the group in a tie for 6th. They are joined by Nicolai Hojgaard, Nicolas Colsaerts and Kalle Samooja, along with Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner Victor Perez, the leading Frenchman after day one.
It was not such a good day for the reigning champion, as Alex Noren could only card a one-over-par 72 to sit outside the top 60 and in danger of missing the cut as he attempts to retain his title. He did have this highlight on the par-5 9th, as he chipped in for eagle to finish off his round.
https://twitter.com/EuropeanTour/status/1184807645171109890
There were some other big names who suffered at the hands of Le Golf National on Thursday, including the Ryder Cup captain who secured victory at this very course twelve months ago.
Thomas Bjorn could only shoot 76 on day one, while Thomas Pieters, Trevor Immelman and the usually fast-starting Gavin Green were also in the black numbers.
They will all need a good second round if they are to make the cut and play over the weekend in Paris, with 64 players currently sat at level-par or better.
The second round gets underway at 08:25 local time (GMT+2), with Jeong Weon Ko, Jake McLeod and Callum Shinkwin starting from the 1st, while David Ravetto, Per Langfors and Nicolai Hojgaard kick things off at the 10th.
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Open de France Leaderboard (* = 10th start):
T1 (-6): George Coetzee (RSA), Ryan Fox (NZL)
T3 (-5): Richie Ramsay* (SCO), Benjamin Hebert (FRA), Kurt Kitayama (USA)
T6 (-4): Nicolas Colsaerts* (BEL), Darren Fichardt*, Jaco van Zyl*, Justin Walters* (all RSA), Nicolai Hojgaard (DEN), Victor Perez (FRA), Kalle Samooja (FIN)
Selected Others:
T13 (-3): Jordan Smith (ENG), Romain Langasque* (FRA), Matthias Schwab* (AUT)
T25 (-2): Alexander Levy* (FRA), Joost Luiten (NED), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano* (ESP)
T35 (-1): Erik van Rooyen* (RSA), Stewart Cink* (USA), Edoardo Molinari* (ITA)
T50 (E): Charles Larcelet* (A, FRA), Jamie Donaldson* (WAL), Julian Suri (USA)
T65 (+1): Romain Wattel* (FRA), Shubhankar Sharma (IND), Alex Noren* (SWE)
T79 (+2): Trevor Immelman (RSA), Adrian Otaegui* (ESP), Gavin Green* (MAS)
T90 (+3): Thomas Pieters (BEL), Raphael Jacquelin (FRA)
T104 (+5): Thomas Bjorn* (DEN), Bernd Ritthammer* (GER)