Photos: DR

The former world number one, winner at the Golf National in 2009, thus demonstrates his attachment to the French meeting. He will meet in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines the American Kevin Stadler, winner of the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February and recent 8th in the Masters, who will take part in the event for the first time.

These are therefore two prestigious names that are added to those, already known, of Graeme McDowell and Victor Dubuisson. The defending champion and the French number one are indeed joined by two players with very different profiles but with identical ambitions: to win over the Albatross. Martin Kaymer has already done it: in 2009, the German posted a 62 in the first round to equal the course record before winning in the play-off against Lee Westwood. This victory, the third of the ten successes recorded between 2008 and 2011 on the European Tour, accelerated Kaymer's trajectory to the heights of world golf, achieved in August 2010 by his triumph at the US PGA Championship and then his accession in January. 2011 instead of world number one.

Slowed down over the past two years by swing changes slower to assimilate than expected, Martin Kaymer has been less talked about, with the exception of the putt taken at Medinah in September 2012 to allow Europe to keep the Ryder Cup on. the wire facing the United States. Now based full time on the American circuit and the author of his first success in a regular PGA Tour tournament, the 29-year-old nonetheless continues to show his attachment to the Alstom Open de France. “I am very happy to be coming back to one of my favorite European Tour tournaments. The course is fantastic, as are the supporters. They are always very enthusiastic and loud during the French Open. I can't even imagine what it will be like in the Ryder Cup in 2018, ”said the 28th in the world, who has never missed an edition since his first appearance at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in 2007 and has signed there four top 15s in addition to his success.

A year after the arrival of Matt Kuchar and three years after that of Bubba Watson, another renowned American player is preparing to cross the Atlantic to discover the Alstom Open de France. This is Kevin Stadler, 34, who won his first PGA Tour success in February, after 239 attempts. A victory which opened the doors to the Masters, where he signed a more than honorable first appearance by taking the 8th place tied for the first Major of the season. Son of Craig Stadler, winner of the Masters in 1982, the current 55th player in the world is therefore walking more than ever in the footsteps of his illustrious father, who himself came to France in 1987 to compete in the French Open, in Saint-Cloud.