Retief Goosen of South Africa will be seeking his third Novotel Perrier Open de France title this week when the event returns to Le Golf National in Paris after a one year interlude.
Goosen, who has spent the bulk of the Spring playing in America, defeated Greg Turner of New Zealand in a sudden-death play-off last year at Golf de Medoc in Bordeaux, but he was also successful in 1997 over The Albatross course at the custom-built Stadium venue.
Colin Montgomerie, chasing an unprecedented eighth successive Volvo Order of Merit title in 2000, heads an impressive cast at Le Golf National.
New Zealand's Michael Campbell, who made such an impressive start to the season by winning the Johnnie Walker and Heineken Classics, returns to Europe after a highly effective winter campaign 'Down Under'.
As well as the Kiwi, a further six winners on the European Tour's International Schedule for 2000 will be in the field at the course, 20 miles south west of Paris, where the course record of 63 was set by Paul Broadhurst in 1995 and equalled three times subsequently.
The Albatross course was opened in 1990 after the French Federation, together with their principal course designer, Hubert Chesneau, took the decision to turn the area of completely flat ground into the first "National" golf complex in France.
The Championship itself is steeped in history, dating back to the first winner, Arnaud Massey, in 1906 to legends such as J H Taylor, James Braid, Walter Hagen, Henry Cotton, Roberto de Vicenzo and Bobby Locke.
