(ATR) The golf course proposed for Paris 2024 has plenty of experience hosting golfing elite.
Le Golf National was the scene last week for the Open de France tournament, won by Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood.
Fleetwood and other players on the European Tour praised the conditions at the Albatros championship course. Besides the Olympics in 2024 should Paris be selected, the course will be the site of the 2018 Ryder Cup.
Fleetwood tweeted after his victory: Thank you to @HNAOpendeFrance for a fantastic event. It’s been a pleasure to be part of.
Paris 2024 sports director Jean-Philippe Gatien also complimented the championship course.
"Le Golf National has once again shown itself to be a top class venue for Golf, providing a great experience for players, spectators and TV viewers," Gatien told Around the Rings.
Le Golf National is about an hour southwest of Paris, near Versailles.
Los Angeles, the other city in the contest for the 2024 Oympics, proposes Riviera Country Club. The historic course is in Pacific Palisades, a coastal suburb.
Le Golf National is now preparing for the 42nd Ryder Cup, the first time the bi-annual U.S. versus Europe showdown will be contested in France. It could even serve as an unofficial test event for a possible Paris 2024 Games.
European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn tweeted: "Absolutely convinced the Ryder Cup is going to be incredible around this track!"
Lee Westwood has called it his favorite course in Europe noting "It would make for a great Ryder Cup venue.
"It will be a wonderful setting for the Ryder Cup in 2018 and is potentially a perfect location for Olympic Golf in 2024," Gatien said. "It is a real asset for France and Paris 2024."
Former French Open champion Thomas Levet, a Paris native and participant in the recent Olympic Day celebration, was asked to compare the potential impact that the Ryder Cup and Olympic Golf might have on the sport in his home country.
"This will be even better for French golf. The Ryder Cup will launch something, but the Olympics will put something even on top of that. All the TV networks will be there, and it will be good for golf to get all that exposure," says Levet.
Opened in October 1990, Le Golf National has a proven track record of hosting major tournaments. Since 1991, the 7,300-yard, par 72 Albatros course, has been the host venue for every Open de France except on two occasions. The spectator friendly course has a capacity of 80,000 fans.
The course combines the traditional feel of links golf with the modern features of target golf. Slick greens, vast undulating fairways and numerous links-style bunkers add to the test.
The finishing four holes are surrounded by water hazards and could make for a dramatic Olympic finale similar to Rio 2016.
Britain’s Justin Rose outdueled Sweden’s Henrik Stenson for the gold medal in Brazil as golf returned to the Olympic Games for first time in 112 years.
French golfers still have a way to go before they can reach the podium. At the Rio 2016 Games Greg Bourdy was the top French player finishing tied for 21st, 13 strokes behind Rose. Julien Quesne ended tied for 55th among 60 golfers.
Regarding the 2018 Ryder Cup, there is no guarantee that there will even be a French golfer who qualifies for or is selected to the European squad. However, it seems probable that European captain Bjørn would choose at least one, perhaps 26-year-old Alexander Levy, the top ranked French golfer, currently 79th in the World Golf Rankings.
Golf in the Olympics is expected to extend into 2024, following a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board in June.
The recommendation is expected be ratified by all IOC members at the 130th session in Lima in September.
Reported by Brian Pinelli.
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