Round one of this €3 million Open de France is now over.
I woke up this morning felling very good and confident of a good round and a good week. It is always a great feeling to defend a title, it has been so long since October 20th, 2019 when I received the Open de France trophy – in fact it is 1,069 days – who is counting!
I managed a one over par front nine of 37 with three bogeys and two birdies on holes 2 and 9. On the Par 3 second hole at 210 yards, I hit my tee shot to 8 feet and 2 inches for my opening birdie.
On the back nine I birdied the 178 yards,11th, I hit my tee shot to 4 feet and 5 inches to earn my second 2’s club of the day.
I stood on the 12th tee level par for the round which put me in a good position.
I was hitting the ball very nicely and I immediately felt comfortable in myself and with my game.
Then the famous finishing stretch over the Le Golf National Course took its revenge on me.
I had water balls on both holes 15 and 16, but still managed to escape with bogeys, to come home in one over par 36 and hand in a scorecard of 73 to lie in tied 93rd.
I deserved so much better but that is a story of so many golfers in both the Pro and Amateur game.
Leading by two shots after round one is Rasmus Hojgaard, who tied the course record with a 10 birdie nine under par 62. Do you all realise what a tough golf course this Paris layout really is?
Rasmus is half of the 21 year-old dynamic Danish duo with twin brother Nicolai who seem destined to be part of the future of the DP World Tour.
Nicolai has UAE connections, when he won, earlier this year on the DP World Tour, the Ras al Khaimah Championship held at Al Hamra Golf Club, in RAK.
My playing partners Robert MacIntryre and fellow Dubain Adrian Meronk shot rounds of
67 and 72 respectively, so I have a bit of chasing in my own group in round two.
Robert looks a very good player and seemingly still on a high after his big win in the Italian Open last week on the DP World Tour. It looks like he celebrated more with Diet Sprite than anything stronger just four days ago.
My second round tee time is at 8.30 am from tee 10, so there is no time to be down on myself about round one.
I am staying positive and will connect with you after round two.
Wish me luck!
Nicolas Colsaerts
Nicolas Colsaerts, 39 years-old is a Dubai Golden VISA Awardee. He is a three time tournament winner on the DP World, a member of Team Europe in The 2012 Ryder Team in Medinah and is an Ambassador for Aviv Clinics, Dubai.
