Open de France: Nicolas Colsaerts Holds On For Emotional Victory

Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts held off the chasing pack to record his first victory in over seven years, as he lifted the Amundi Open de France title on Sunday.

Nicolas Colsaerts came into the week in a fight to retain his European Tour card, as he sat 114th in the Order of Merit, with only the top 115 at the end of the season keeping their cards.

Now, though, the Belgian knows he is safe, and that he will be a member of the Tour until the end of the 2021 season.

Nicolas Colsaerts came into the day with a three-shot lead, but after a double-bogey 6 on the 15th, he fell behind by one. However, a double bogey of his own from Denmark’s Joachim Hansen moved him down to -11, leaving Colsaerts needing just three pars to win the title.

The Belgian did just that, sinking a short putt on the 18th at Le Golf National to win his first tournament for over 2,700 days, and he was very emotional in his post-round interview.

Hansen was the man to finish second, with that double at the 17th so costly in his endeavor to win a first European Tour crown. The Dane ended the week just a shot behind after his final round of 68.

George Coetzee and Kurt Kitayama both shot level-par rounds of 71 on Sunday, with the pair finishing 3rd and 4th, respectively. The American continued his good form after finishing in 3rd place in Italy last week.

Richie Ramsay, Martin Kaymer and Gavin Moynihan all finished in a tie for 5th, with the German being the only one of the three to shoot under-par on the final day in Paris.

Chris Paisley, Hugo Leon, and Thomas Detry all had good rounds on Sunday, and made the move into the top ten, finishing five shots off the eventual winner Colsaerts.

It was a bad day for the French stars, as both Benjamin Hebert and Victor Perez fell out of the top ten and into a tie for 16th, with both carding over-par rounds.
Last year’s Open de France champion, Alex Noren, came home with a 66 on the final day, as he moved inside the top 20 with the lowest round of the day.

However, for Jamie Donaldson and Brandon Stone, their Sunday’s could not have gone much worse. The Welshman carded a 78, while Stone posted a 77, with both dropping out of the top eight and outside the top 20.

But it was Colsaerts’ day in Paris, as he won his third European Tour title, his first in seven years. And he did so in the most pressurized of situations, knowing that his European Tour career was arguably on the line.

The Belgian is now exempt through to the end of the 2021 season thanks to this victory, one he earned thanks to three great rounds to start his week, and then a battle on Sunday afternoon.

The European Tour continues next week with the Portugal Masters, as they stretch towards the finale in Abu Dhabi continues.

Leaderboard:

• 1 (-12): Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL)
• 2 (-11): Joachim Hansen (DEN)
• 3 (-10): George Coetzee (RSA)
• 4 (-9): Kurt Kitayama (USA)
• T5 (-8): Martin Kaymer (GER), Richie Ramsay (SCO), Gavin Moynihan (IRL)
• T8 (-7): Chris Paisley (ENG), Hugo Leon (CHL), Thomas Detry (BEL)

Selected Others:

• T11 (-6): Joost Luiten (NED)
• T16 (-4): Benjamin Hebert (FRA), Victor Perez (FRA)
• T18 (-3): Romain Langasque (FRA), Alex Noren (SWE), Ryan Fox (NZL)
• T23 (-2): Trevor Immelman (RSA), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Jamie Donaldson (WAL)