Genworth Stats Pack - Alstom Open de France Preview

Luke Donald has competed in this event once before in 2010 (finishing 11th) and he arrives off the back of an 8th place finish at the US Open. Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the 35 year old Englishman ranks low in a number of categories, but they are as a result of an extremely difficult schedule of events. Impressively though, the 7 time European Tour winner still ranks inside the top 50 for Driving Accuracy, plus his short game and Par 3 Scoring stats are pretty solid considering. It will be interesting to see how the current world number 8 goes this week.

Graeme McDowell has competed in this tournament twice before with a best of 17th last year, but he arrives off the back of three missed cuts on the European Tour. Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the 33 year old golfer from Northern Ireland ranks 18th for Driving Accuracy, which is great when you consider the very tough schedule of events that he has played. It is of course understandable that players will throw in the odd double bogey at the bigger events, but everything considered, the 8 time European Tour winner is making very few bogeys per round.

Ian Poulter has an excellent record from his three visits to Le Golf National, both in terms of results and Genworth Statistics. In 2009 he ranked 1st for Driving Accuracy and 3rd for Greens in Regulation on his way to a 3rd place finish, then in 2010 he ranked 3rd again for Greens in Regulation on his way to finishing 18th, and finally in 2012 he finished 5th for Greens in Regulation and 4th overall for the tournament. The same as the two world top 10 golfers above, the 37 year old Englishman’s Genworth Statistics are distorted by a difficult schedule of events, but he is one of the favourites this week.

Matteo Manassero has competed in this event on three previous occasions with a best of 17th last year, and he arrives in superb form following his fourth European Tour victory just one month ago at Wentworth. Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the 20 year old Italian maestro ranks 11th for Stroke Average, scoring well across the different hole types (being the Par 3’s / Par 4’s / Par 5’s), plus his touch on and around the greens has been sublime, ranking strong in each short game category.

Martin Kaymer has an excellent record from his four visits to Le Golf National, starting with a win in 2009, 6th in 2010, 4th in 2011 and 70th last year. Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the 28 year old German golfer seems to have struggled a little on and around the greens, but his performance on the Par 5 holes has been spectacular. The 10 time European Tour winner is driving the ball long and hitting 37.5% of the Par 5 greens in sub-regulation (two shots), resulting in a good eagle conversion rate and a 4.56 Par 5 Scoring average.

Thomas Björn has competed in this event three times before (with a best of 18th in 2010) and he arrives in fantastic form with finishes of 4th / 2nd / 2nd / 18th from his last four starts. Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the 42 year old Great Dane ranks high in most categories, including 6th for Par 4 Scoring and 5th for Birdies per Round, all leading to a 70.33 Stroke Average (ranking 8th overall). The 13 time European Tour winner has been knocking on the door for a few weeks now. His next win surely cannot be far away.

Marcel Siem has competed in this event four times before and he arrives this week as the defending champion. Last year he proved imperious from tee to green, ranking 2nd for Driving Accuracy, 5th for Driving Distance and 3rd for Greens in Regulation. Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the 32 year old German golfer is performing well in numerous categories, and like fellow countryman Kaymer, the three time European Tour winner is excelling on the Par 5 holes with a 4.57 Par 5 Scoring average. He is the type of character that could well defend his title.

Alex Noren has competed in this event six times before (with a best of 15th last year) and he arrives off the back of two 4th place finishes in a row. Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the 30 year old Swedish golfer is looking very impressive, ranking 1st for Par 3 Scoring and 4th for Par 4 Scoring, plus his touch on and around the greens has been magnificent (enabling him to make fewer bogeys than any other player). Even with a slightly low Driving Accuracy the three-time European Tour winner still ranks 3rd for Stroke Average over the period.

Mikko Ilonen has competed in this event twice before (with a best of 54th last year) and he arrives this week as one of the form players, having achieved a win and two second place finishes from his last six starts. His Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March are simply awesome, ranking 1st for Par 4 Scoring, 1st for Putts per GIR, 1st for Birdies per Round and 1st for all-important Stroke Average. The three-time European Tour winner and current world number 68 will be brimming with confidence this week and he will no doubt be looking for his first big finish at the stunning Le Golf National.

Joost Luiten has competed in this event three times before (with a best of 42nd in 2010) and he arrives having finished 1st / 10th / 2nd from his last three starts. Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the 27 year old golfer from the Netherlands is looking incredibly strong in the long game department, ranking 10th for Driving Accuracy and 9th for Greens in Regulation. He is also scoring very well across the different hole types, making lots of birdies versus few mistakes, all leading to an overall Stroke Average ranking of 5th.

Raphaël Jacquelin has competed in this event on four previous occasions with a best of 3rd last year and he starts as the highest ranking player of the home contingent (currently 115th on the Official World Golf Rankings). Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the 39 year old French golfer is driving the ball nice and straight (an important department of the game for average length hitters of the ball), plus he is ranking well across each of the short game categories and making few mistakes per round.