Steve Palmer's French Open preview, best bets, free golf tips and course guide

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the French Open at Le Golf National on the European Tour.

Where to watch

Starts 7.25am Thursday
Live on Sky Sports Golf from 11am Thursday

Best bets

Marcus Kinhult
3pts each-way 25-1 Betfair, BoyleSports, Paddy Power
Back this tip with Paddy Power
Joost Luiten
3pts each-way 16-1 Betfair, Paddy Power
Back this tip with Paddy PowerJordan Smith
2pts each-way 22-1 bet365
Back this tip with bet365Victor Perez
1pt each-way 45-1 Sky Bet

Schedule changes have generally been a positive for the European Tour and increased the stature of many events, but the French Open has suffered, with a smaller prize fund and an unglamorous line-up at the scene of the last Ryder Cup.

The French Open in its previous summer slot commanded a strong field, featuring several of the 12 players who won the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National last autumn, but Alexander Noren, the defending champion, is the only returning Ryder Cup hero this week.

Noren is winless since the last French Open, but his three-year Le Golf National form figures are 8-10-1 and he claimed two points from three matches in the Ryder Cup, so bookmakers have made him favourite.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Marcus Kinhult 25-1

Alex Noren deserves plenty of respect this week on the stage where he defeated Bryson DeChambeau in Ryder Cup singles, but preference at more than double the price of the market leader is for his 23-year-old compatriot Marcus Kinhult.

The accurate Swede relishes the dimensions of Le Golf National, a brutal course where only the tidiest of players can keep double-bogeys off their scorecard, and he took a two-shot lead into the final round during a remarkable French Open debut last year.

Kinhult was a rookie maiden that week, who had missed five of his previous eight cuts before arriving in Paris, so leading for such a long way was an incredible effort. There was no disgrace in a final-round 76, which turned a two-shot advantage into a two-shot defeat, and a share of fifth place with Jon Rahm and Matt Southgate was hugely commendable.

Kinhult has since become a European Tour champion, courageously repelling Matt Wallace, Eddie Pepperell and Robert MacIntyre to win the British Masters in May, and bright recent spins, including a ten-under-par weekend in the Scandinavian Invitation, 12th spot at Crans, and a closing 69 on Sunday for 18th place in the Italian Open, indicate a follow-up victory is possible in Paris. His two Challenge Tour outings in France yielded form figures of 18-5.

Next best bet

Joost Luiten 16-1

The extreme tee-to-green examination of Le Golf National is just what the doctor ordered for Joost Luiten, who has been oozing long-game control in recent weeks, without gaining full reward. His ball-striking excellence has come at a time when the winning scores in his last six events have been 19, 14, 18, 20, 22 and 16 under par, and poor putting has meant form figures of 29-23-10-31-40-25.

Anyone finishing double-digits under par in Paris this week will have a great chance of lifting the trophy, with a premium on limiting tee-to-green errors, and Luiten's recent precision means he should keep a cleaner card than most.

Seven previous French Open spins have resulted in just one missed cut and he has made his last five in a row, including a share of ninth place in 2016. His maiden Challenge Tour victory came in France in 2007 and he has gone on to win six European Tour titles at the age of 33, typically flourishing in fields of similar quality to that which he tackles this week.

Luiten switched to a cross-handed putting stroke and a new putter in the Dunhill Links, carding seven final-round birdies and ending the event with a positive strokes-gained-putting statistic, so there has been some encouragement on the greens too.

Other selections

Jordan Smith 22-1

Victor Perez 45-1

The solid driving of Jordan Smith stands him in great stead at Le Golf National, where he has finished 30th and 21st in two previous visits, and his A-game appears to have returned at the perfect time for the Bath boy to further improve those progressive Paris form figures. A share of 24th at Wentworth was followed by fifth place in the Dunhill Links and a closing 68 for 24th spot on Sunday in Italy, where he found more than 80 percent of greens in regulation.

The former Challenge Tour star, who won the 2017 European Open in Germany, looks ready for a second main-tour victory at the age of 26, while another accurate operator, Victor Perez, completes the staking plan.

Tour maidens Matthias Schwab and Romain Langasque are tempting options, but preference is for a quartet of proven champions. Perez showed his mettle by winning a tight tussle for the Dunhill Links at the end of last month and the Frenchman will be confident of making an impact in front of family and friends this week.

Perez missed the cut on his French Open debut last year, but he was cardless and ranked 338th in the world. This time, he is a European Tour champion ranked 74th in the world, bursting with long-game assurance, and benefiting from experienced caddie JP Fitzgerald, who helped Rory McIlroy to third place in his last visit to Golf National.

Players to note

Matthias Schwab
The steady Austrian made a solid French Open debut last year and form figures of 5-8-2-28-61-4 point to his obvious chance of success on a Golf National layout which plays to his strengths. The only negative is he has never lifted a trophy on any tour of significance.

Romain Langasque
The dashing Frenchman, a winner on the Challenge Tour in his homeland, should contend if he can tighten up his often inaccurate driving. His missed cut in Italy last week is easily forgiven as his invitation came on the Tuesday, leaving no time for proper preparation.

Aaron Rai
The accurate Englishman won the last of his three Challenge Tour titles in France and Golf National will probably become a happy hunting ground through the years.

Shubhankar Sharma
The Indian has rediscovered his A-game, churning out greens in regulation on his way to seventh place in Italy last week, hot on the heels of 17th spot at Wentworth.

Bernd Ritthammer
The German, traditionally an accurate driver, finished second in the BMW International last month to revive a faltering career. The three-time Challenge Tour victor could go well at a massive price.

Ashley Chesters
The Shropshire man is a straight driver who can stay out of serious trouble this week and a return of his September form would give him a chance.

Le Golf National course guide

Course Le Golf National, Paris, France
Prize money €1.6m (€250,000 to the winner)
Length 7,245 yards
Par 71
Field 120
Course records- 72 holes 269 Pablo Larrazabal (2008) 18 holes 62 Eduardo Romero (2005)

Course winners taking part Pablo Larrazabal, Martin Kaymer, Marcel Siem, Thongchai Jaidee, Alexander Noren

When to bet By 7.25am Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 11am Thursday

Time difference France is one hour ahead of the UK and Ireland

Last week - Italian Open 1 B Wiesberger (35-1), 2 M Fitzpatrick (25-1), 3 K Kitayama (175-1), T4 R MacIntyre (50-1), A Johnston (80-1), M Schwab (50-1), T7 F Laporta (300-1), S Sharma (200-1), M Wallace (25-1)

Course overview Le Golf National is one of Europe's finest courses and it always provides a stern test for the French Open hopefuls. The event used to be contested in the first week of July, but has switched to October for the first time this season. The course opened in 1990 and staged this tournament for the first time the following year. It has been the venue a further 25 times, including the last 17 years. It hosted the Ryder Cup in September last year. The fairways are severely undulating, so precise tee-shots are required to keep balls on the cut and prepared. The rough is typically lush and penal, and several water hazards are lurking to punish the errant. The greens are fairly large and pacy, with plenty of sharp slopes, making lag putting from distance extremely challenging. The 210-yard par-three second hole, and three par-fours measuring at least 470 yards (the fourth, 17th and 18th), provide the stiffest examinations. There are only three par-fives to offer relief (the third, ninth and 14th) and five of the last eight champions have topped the final leaderboard with a single-digit-under-par total

Story of last year Alex Noren gave himself a boost prior to his Ryder Cup debut by winning the French Open at the venue, beating a trio of players by a shot, finishing seven under par

Weather forecast Cool throughout, with a mixture of short sunny spells, cloud and drizzle, and light to moderate breezes

Type of player suited to the challenge Le Golf National is a super-tough track which usually sorts the men from the boys. It demands accuracy from tee to green – the penalty for wide shots is often a watery grave – so straight-hitters should be supported

Key attribute Accuracy

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