Above all, they will have the opportunity to meet German Martin Kaymer, who has just won the US Open in North Carolina, and who will be, as the new 11th in the world, the highest ranked player in the field and big favorite in the field. 'test.

Of the 142 players who took part in the two qualifying rounds held on the same day on the courses of the Exclusiv Golf Apremont (Oise) and the Exclusiv Golf Courson-Stade Français (Essonne), only nine won their place in the field. of the 156 players at the start of the Alstom Open de France. In Courson, Raphaël Marguery won in 140 (-4), two strokes ahead of David Bobrowski and the Swede Oskar Henningsson (142, -2). Michaël Lorenzo-Vera (144, par) and Baptiste Chapellan (145, +1) took the last two remaining tickets. In Apremont, where Anthony Grenier (146, +2) finished 4th and last qualified, it was a trio of English who won the podium: Paul Dwyer and the 2013 British Amateur winner Garrick Porteous (144, by) outstripped Matt Ford.

Of the five qualifiers, only Michaël Lorenzo-Vera and Baptiste Chapellan have already participated in the Alstom Open de France. The 29-year-old Basque, former member of the European Tour who is competing this season on the Challenge Tour, has taken part in it four times but has never crossed the cut. As for the 26-year-old Bordeaux player, also a Challenge Tour player, he had not crossed the cut in 2011 during his only appearance at the Golf National. The experienced Anthony Grenier (38 years old) and the young Raphaël Marguery (26 years old) and David Bobrowski (24 years old) will make their big debuts in their national open. They join within the French contingent, which has 20 representatives to date, the twelve other full-time French members of the European circuit: Victor Dubuisson, Alexander Levy, Romain Wattel, Julien Quesne, Grégory Bourdy, Raphaël Jacquelin, Thomas Levet, Grégory Havret, François Calmels, Victor Riu, Gary Stal and Adrien Saddier. Three other blues, finally, will also be in the game through the exemption categories reserved for the French: Alexandre Kaleka, Édouard Dubois and Julien Guerrier.

If the set is not yet quite finalized, a few invitations still to be distributed, it already looks great. To all credit, the highest ranked golfer in the field is none other than recent US Open winner in Pinehurst, North Carolina, Germany's Martin Kaymer. Crowned at the Golf National in 2009, the 11th player in the world will aim for a third victory in 3, on a course he particularly likes. Behind him, eight other headliners are part of the world top 2014: Dubuisson (50st), the Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell (21nd), the Dane Thomas Bjørn (22th), the Welshman Jamie Donaldson (26rd), the Scottish Stephen Gallacher (33th), the Thai Thongchai Jaidee (36th), the Italian Francesco Molinari (39nd) and the Dutch Joost Luiten (42th). There are also 45 players ranked between 13st and 51th in the world, including the Americans Kevin Stadler (100th, winner of the PGA Tour in February) and Brooks Koepka (57th, recent 70th in the US Open).

Finally, among the remaining players to cite, let us salute the presence of some big names in European golf: the Major winners José Maria Olazábal (Masters 1994 and 1999) and Padraig Harrington (British 2007 and 2008, USPGA 2008); number one in Europe in 2008 Robert Karlsson; Ryder Cup winners Niclas Fasth (2002), David Howell (2004), Edoardo Molinari (2010), Ross Fisher (2010) and Nicolas Colsaerts (2012), not to mention Paul McGinley, three times crowned player (2002) , 2004, 2006), twice as vice-captain (2010 and 2012), and future leader of the European team in the next Europe - United States match in Scotland in September.