Time for pros to punch tickets to the Open

As members of the European Tour, we are in the middle of one of our most important stretches of the season — the lead-up to the Open Championship with backto-back massive tournaments like this week’s French Open, followed by the Scottish Open.

Of course, the Final Series of the season — the four events that culminate with the top-60 players in the Race to Dubai competing at the DP World Tour Championship — has more prize money on offer, but in order to make sure that you qualify for that, you have got to have a good run, especially in this time of the year. For all those who have not yet made it to the Open, this is the chance to put in a strong show and punch their ticket to what should be an amazing week at the Home of Golf, St Andrew’s, in its traditional dates of the third week of July.

Gullane Golf Club, which will host the Scottish Open, is a bit of an unknown for most players, including me. I have never played there before, but my Scottish friends insist it is another great links course at par with the many magical ones that they have in their country. But Le Golf National, the host venue of this week’s French Open, has no such issues. Situated just outside Paris, it will also be the host venue of the 2018 Ryder Cup, and it must rank as one of the strongest golf courses we play all year.

The key to doing well at Le Golf National is to avoid getting wet, which is easier said than done since water comes into play on several holes like the first and second, and then four of the last six holes (13th, 15th, 16th and 18th). Then there is the thick rough that you have got to negotiate. And if you are successful in doing all that, you have got some of the fastest greens in Europe to comprehend. Safe to say that the most important thing this week would be to find the green in regulation, and that is something Graeme McDowell did brilliantly in the last two years in becoming back-to-back champion of the tournament. There are a lot of big names in the field this week, including G-Mac, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Victor Dubuisson, but my player to watch would be Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee.

Jeev Milkha Singh is a four-time champion on the European Tour