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See you in 2010 from July 1st to the 4th.
05/07/09 - 4th Round
- Download the starting list (.pdf)
- Download results (.pdf)
INTERVIEW
- Martin Kaymer : Fourth Round 68. Total 271 (-13)
NEWSFLASHES
17:20 - Kaymer's victory
The German Martin Kaymer won the Open de France Alstom following a play-off against the English Lee Westwood. This is the first German victory – and only the second one in the tournament’s history – since Bernhard langer won in 1984, on the course of Saint-Cloud. Langer also contended in a play-off against Robert Allenby (AUS) at the Golf National in 1996. He finally lost the game.
17:08 - Play-off statistics
It is the twelfth play-off since the tournament creation in 1906, and the first since 2005 (it was Remésy and Van de Velde who were fighting then). Kaymer already went in two play-off and won one. Westwood already went in four, and won two.
16:50 - Play-off on the Albatros
Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood are level at thirteen-under and then co-leaders of the tournament. They have to go to a play-off. The two men are about to fight each other for victory at the 18. Martin Poulter finished the tournament being ten-under par 274. The next are Swede Peter Hanson and the Danish Anders Hansen, both players are nine-under par 275.
15:41 - Lucky thirteen?
Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer are still the co-leaders of this Open de France Alstom 2009. They both are thirteen under par, Westwood is currently at the 16 and plaid even at the previous hole, after he condeded a bogey. Kaymer did the same with an even par at the 13 and a bogey at the 12. Echenique stays even par, and is then stuck at eleven-under, whereas Poulter pitched the green at the 15, before sending the ball into the water. Therefore he got back to ten-under par, but is still ranked tied for 4th with the Swede Hanson.
15:02 - Doubts
The struggle for victory is intensifying. Kaymer and Westwood are level at fourteen-under. Behind the co-leaders are Ian Poulter and Rafa Echenique at eleven-under. However the English is five-under par for the fourth round, whereas Echenique is playing even. Similarly, Kaymer sure is four-under par, but Westwood is very energetic, especially for the putts.
14:37 - The good Scandinavians
By carding a six-under par 65 for the day, Denmark’s Søren Hansen is the front-runner of the day for now. Moreover he is temporarily ranked 8th thanks to an overall score an eight-under par. He is ahead of the Swede Peter Hedblom who carded a five-under par 66 for today, a four-under par 280 for the whole tournament, and who is occupying the 25th position. Another Swede, Peter Hanson, is currently struggling for the final victory, with a temporary fourth position. He is closely followed by another Danish player: Anders Hansen at nine-under.
14:22 - Who is the front-runner ?
Echenique (ARG) and Kaymer (GER) keep fighting at the 8. The German was twelve-under when he was playing on the hole 7’s green, and then missed the putt, which has gotten him back to an overall eleven-under par. He now matches the Argentean’s score. Indeed the latter had just bogeyed, conceding the first position to his rival. The tough last contest could benefit Lee Westwood (ENG) who is four-under par for this round after nine holes, and is now the front-runner in the temporary ranking.
13:45 - Delamontagne at the top of the French team
François Delamontagne is the front-runner of the French players in this 2009 Open de France Alstom, at three-under par 281. The French indeed carded a three-under 68 for this fourth round, and is ranked 31st. Jean-François Lucquin is one-under par and still has five holes to clear, occupying the 40th position. After 13 holes, “Jeff” is one-over par for the fourth round. Raphaël Jacquelin, at two-over, is getting close to the club house at the 18. Grégory Bourdy is at six-over at the 17. At last, Jean Van (at three-over) is ranked 44th, and Thomas Levet (at six-over), 64th-ranked, already finished the tournament.
12:58 - Hansen or Hanson?
The Danish Søren Hanse has improved his score from two-under to eight-under par thanks to six birdies, including four in a row between the 2 and the 5. The man from Copenhagen still has six holes to clear. His performance has gotten him temporarily 4th-ranked. He seems to inspire his fellow Danish and homonym Anders Hanson who is eight-under par as well, and is tied-fourth, after six cleared holes including four birdies.
12:40 - The final contest begins
The captain of the Ryder Cup’s European team Colin Montgomerie (SCO) and Alvaro Quiros (SPA) have launched the final race to the title in this Open de France Alstom 2009, in taking the game number 34. The competition promises to be tough and players like Poulter and Westwood are willing to fight. So is Paul Waring who gave a really good performance throughout the week. However, because of a two-over par after two holes, “Monty” seems unlikely to win the tournament for a second time.
12:18 - Larrazabal awaits his successor
Pablo Larrazabal – the last year’s winner of Open de France Alstom- just finished his tournament by carding a good eight-under par 68, his second best score of the week behind the first round (where he carded a four-under par 67). He ended up two-under par 282, and 41st-ranked.
12:10 - Otto's sad record
South Africa’s Hennie Otto gave the worst performance, due to six-over par 10 at the 7. He then matches the tournament record, set by Scott Drummond (SCO) who also reached six-over par at the 18 which includes a decisive water obstacle. Behind both men, Mikael Lundberg (SWE) scored a six-over par as well, but the par was 6. He then gets a total of nine-over par.
11:37 - Some stats
After three days of competition, this Open de France Alstom statistics confirm the great shape of some players, but are sometimes very complicated to analyze. For example, the 2008 winner Pablo Larrazabal (SPA) shows a steady average of 1.5 putts a hole. Despite this consistence, he does not even reach the 30th position. On the contrary, the men of the hour have given a good performance in the other categories. Alvaro Quiros –who is one of the biggest hitters on the circuit- tee off longest thanks to a 350-yard average drive. Yet, he does not hold the record with his longest drive (377 yards) on the second round. This feat indeed belongs to the French François Delamontagne (388 yards). The English players did very well on the greens and the reached fairways, thanks to Seve Benson and Ian Poulter. Benson got 87% of the greens, including two days at 89%, whereas Poulter reached the fairway at 83% overall, including an impressive third round at 93%.
10:29 - A Swedish surge
The Swede Peter Hedblom is four-under par and gets the best score of the day for now, after only nine holes. The Scandinavian birdied three times in a row at the 6, 7 and 8, and is now on his way back. Even if he should not trouble the leaders, catching up from one-over to three-under par brings him to the 24th position. His fellow Swede Niclas Fasth contines his advance thanks to a score of three-under par after ten holes. Meanwhile Pablo Larrazabal just bogeyed for a second time and gets back to two-under par for today, still having seven holes to clear.
09:25 - A two-under bottom
While the players in the first game are starting their return on the 9, the performances at the Open de France Alstom are very mild this morning. Indeed only four players are two-under par : Thomas Björn (DEN) and Niclas Fasth (SWE) and the Spanish Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal.
Bjorn was three-under par after five holes, but he bogeyed at the 7, which gets him back to two-under par. On the other hand, the 2008 winner Larrazabal birdied twice after four holes and Fasth after only three. At the 1, a right 416-yard dogleg, Fasth reached a whole new score for this week thanks to a birdie, after an eagle, two bogeys and an even par.
Larrazabal this morning fired his third birdie in the week at the 3, a 5 par of 563 yards. In addition he birdied at the 4: a hole where he never plaid even this year, having managed two birdies and two bogeys within four days.
08:01 - Day of glory on the Albatros
Welcome to the third day of the Open de France Alstom. The first games started very early this morning: Nilbrink (NOR) and Chowrasia (IND) at 6:40. However the most interesting will start from the middle of the day, when the main title contenders Colin Montgomerie (SCO) and Alvaro Quiros (SPA) tee off. This duo scored best yesterday, with 65 strokes for both players on the Albatros. The sophisticated English Ian Poulter will tee off alongside South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel, who finished the third round with a modest one-over par 72. Poulter’s fellow English Lee Westwood will play alongside Robert-Jan Derksen who carded a strong 68 on Saturday. The game 37 will be taken by Ricgard Green (AUS) and Peter Hanson (SUE), who both gave a good performance -eight-under par- for this week. Such a performance is not random, as only three players have been able to play under 71 strokes. Both men will play the game 38, before the one which promises to be the great final of the tournament: the game 39 between Martin Kaymer (GER) who matched the course record on Thursday and Rafa Echenique (ARG), who has also plaid under-par this week. Thomas Levet has been the first French to tee off for this first round, at 7:25, alongside the English Ross McGowan. After a hopeful first day, Levet underwent a baffling disillusion on Friday evening, conceding a triple bogey at the 18, which significantly disheartened him. He is now 63rd-ranked and will be under no pressure to finish this Open. Jean Van de Velde and François Delamontagne follow the par. For this last round they will probably take it easy. So will Raphaël Jacquelin, who is one-under par. On the contrary, Grégory Bourdy and Jean-François Lucquin can try to improve their position: they both are two-under par.
