At my count 28 Frenchmen are in this week's field at the French Open at Le Golf National on the outskirts of Paris, the site of the 2018 Ryder Cup..
Led by Victor Dubuisson, Gregory Havrat, Raphael Jaquelin, and Alexander Levy they will all vying to unseat defending champion Graeme McDowell who is looking to become the first player for 77 years to win the title three years running this week.
Not since Marcel Dallemagne in 1938 has someone lifted Continental Europe’s oldest Open three times in succession, and only five players have ever landed a hat-trick of European Tour titles in the same event – with McDowell hoping to join an illustrious list which currently features Ian Woosnam, Sir Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els
updated Maximilian Kieffer of Germany was leading on -4 with four holes to play when the first round was suspended for the day because of thunderstorms.
Victor Dubuisson, Bernd Wiesberger, and Jaco van Zyl completed their rounds in -3 68, while Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Andrew Dodt were on the same score with one hole left.
Graeme McDowell, seeking a third straight French Open title, was 1 over after 17 holes.
Two thunderstorms disrupted play for a combined 2 1/2 hours at the start of the day.
Kieffer is the most consistent player on the European Tour this season after making 16 cuts, more than anyone else.
Bryan (notes from BBC Reuters europeantour.com AP)
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