McDOWELL FINDS HIS FORM AGAIN IN THE FRENCH OPEN

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
Graeme McDowell arrived at the French Open on a mission - “To get in four good rounds ahead of The Open.” After his second successive 69 the Ulsterman may have to raise his ambitions somewhat.

McDowell had missed five out of six cuts prior to this 108-year-old event and admitted he was concerned with Muirfield just two weeks away.

But he has shrugged of his indifferent form to match the control of his first round with three birdies and a bogey to move to four under at Le National today.

It left the world No 9 handily posied behind the Paraguayan leader Fabrizio Zanotti. If McDowell were to prevail then his last seven starts would have yielded three victories and four missed cuts, which must be unprecedented for a professional.

“That would probably be above most people’s heads,” he said. “But I get it. It’s not the worst way to spread your season. This is a great course and not unlike the links we’ll face in a few weeks - firm and fast.”

McDowell was simply relieved to be teeing it up on a Saturday for the first time since the start of May.

“It’s been a rough couple of months for me,” he said. “I’ve not been playing the kind of golf I’d like to and the key to this week was to come and get myself in the mix for the weekend and get some of the juices flowing again.
“I’m excited for the weekend and to make a cut really. It feels like a step in the right direction. I certainly know what to do when I put myself in these positions. I just have not had the opportunity to do it lately.
"I’m probably on one of my worst missed cut runs in a while. It’s nice to break that, first and foremost, and be on the leaderboard.”
On the same mark in Versailles are two Englishmen in Graeme Storm and Simon Dyson, as well as Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher. One ahead in a group on five under is the Dane Thomas Bjorn.
Further down the field, Luke Donald and Ian Poulter are on two over, after a 73 and 71 respectively, but will be glad to have made the cut.

 

 

French fun in the sun for Fabulous Fabrizio

 
REPORT FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

On a glorious summer’s day in Versailles, Fabrizio Zanotti coasted to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the Alstom Open de France, establishing a one stroke lead over the Danish duo of Thomas Björn and Soren Kjeldsen and South Africa’s Richard Sterne.

The Paraguayan dropped just one shot at the formidable Golf National to post a second consecutive round of three under par 68 to move to six under for the week, with Björn, Kjeldsen and Sterne tied on five under.

Graeme McDowell is lurking on four under, alongside Stephen Gallacher, Simon Dyson and the 2007 Alstom Open de France winner Graeme Storm.

Only nine strokes separate Zanotti and the rest of the weekend field at Le Golf National. With every player to survive the halfway cut, including Luke Donald (+2), Ian Poulter (+2) and Matt Kuchar (+3), in with a chance of catching Zanotti. 
Eliminated at halfway were those with 36-hole aggregates of 146 and higher.

“I am very happy with the round,” said Zanotti. “It was pretty tough out there, and the course is playing very hard, so very happy.

“I will try to keep playing like this and just have fun. I am always positive and love to play in big tournaments with big crowds and great atmospheres, and that is what we have here.

“On a course like this, I think that you have to accept everything.  It's playing very tough and the greens are getting hard, so it's going to be very difficult, but hopefully I can keep patient and have fun.  There is no other way I think.”

HALFWAY SCOREBOARD
Par 142 (2x71)

136 F Zanotti (Par) 68 68

137 T Björn (Den) 68 69; S Kjeldsen (Den) 69 68; R Sterne  (RSA) 68 69

138 G Storm  (Eng) 70 68; S Dyson  (Eng) 70 68; G McDowell  (Nir) 69 69; S Gallacher (Sco) 68 70

139 R Green (Aus) 69 70; E De La Riva  (Esp) 72 67; S Jamieson  (Sco) 69 70

140 J Donaldson (Wal) 70 70; F Aguilar (Chi) 68 72; D Howell (Eng) 69 71; A Cañizares  (Esp) 71 69; R Ramsay  (Sco) 69 71

141 M Nixon (Eng) 68 73; G Shaw (Nir) 72 69; C Doak (Sco) 71 70; K Broberg (Swe) 72 69; L Slattery (Eng) 71 70; S Henry  (Sco) 73 68; M Warren (Sco) 69 72; B Wiesberger  (Aut) 70 71; J Morrison  (Eng) 69 72

142 J Luiten (Ned) 71 71; G Bourdy (Fra) 69 73; T Pieters  (Bel) 70 72; H Otto (RSA) 71 71; R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 70 72; M Manassero (Ita) 73 69; R Derksen (Ned) 72 70; M Madsen  (Den) 71 71; D McGrane (Irl) 70 72; S Hansen (Den) 75 67; R Wattel  (Fra) 67 75

143 S Chowrasia (Ind) 76 67; S Benson (Eng) 71 72; V Dubuisson  (Fra) 68 75; J Campillo (Esp) 74 69; M Hoey  (Nir) 69 74; R Fisher (Eng) 70 73; C Lloyd (Eng) 70 73

144 L Donald  (Eng) 71 73; A Hansen (Den) 66 78; E Goya (Arg) 68 76; D Drysdale (Sco) 70 74; J Parry (Eng) 74 70; I Poulter (Eng) 73 71; M Kaymer (Ger) 68 76; S Khan (Eng) 71 73; G Maybin (Nir) 71 73;

145 M Kuchar  (USA) 70 75; M Jiménez (Esp) 69 76; A Snobeck  (Fra) 76 69; G Fernandez-Castaño  (Esp) 74 71; I Garrido (Esp) 75 70; F Molinari (Ita) 71 74; L Gagli  (Ita) 73 72; M Lundberg (Swe) 71 74; A Levy (Fra) 69 76; M Lafeber (Ned) 76 69; A Dunbar (Nir) 70 75; T Aiken (RSA) 71 74; R Finch  (Eng) 75 70 

MISSED THE CUT

146 R Rock (Eng) 71 75; T Fleetwood  (Eng) 73 73; A Dodt (Aus) 71 75; R Jacquelin (Fra) 70 76; A Tadini (Ita) 71 75; R Gonzalez (Arg) 73 73; D Lynn (Eng) 73 73; E Molinari  (Ita) 72 74; J Singh (Ind) 76 70; N Fasth (Swe) 75 71; M Baldwin (Eng) 71 75; R Bland (Eng) 74 72; M Foster (Eng) 71 75; T Jaidee (Tha) 71 75; M Kieffer (Ger) 74 72; C Wood  (Eng) 76 70

147 M Southgate  (Eng) 71 76; G Mulroy (RSA) 70 77; E Pepperell (Eng) 75 72; P Waring  (Eng) 77 70; O Fisher  (Eng) 73 74; M Fraser (Aus) 77 70; T Lewis (Eng) 72 75; H Mu (Chn) 72 75; A Noren  (Swe) 70 77; F Fritsch  (Ger) 74 73; J Hansen  (Den) 80 67

148 M Carlsson  (Swe) 74 74; P Uihlein  (USA) 75 73; S Webster (Eng) 74 74; K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 76 72; A Hartø  (Den) 76 72; M Campbell (Nzl) 70 78; G Lockerbie  (Eng) 72 76; T Olesen (Den) 78 70; P McGinley (Irl) 74 74; F Calmels  (Fra) 73 75; D Fichardt (RSA) 78 70; M Siem  (Ger) 78 70; A Quiros  (Esp) 74 74

149 G Havret  (Fra) 73 76; D Horsey (Eng) 77 72; B Stone (RSA) 72 77; T Levet (Fra) 76 73; P Lawrie (Irl) 74 75; C Lee (Sco) 75 74; S Wakefield (Eng) 72 77

150 J Van Zyl (RSA) 70 80; G Stal  (Fra) 79 71; L Jensen (Den) 80 70; P Whiteford (Sco) 78 72; R Santos  (Por) 75 75; A Sullivan (Eng) 80 70; E Grillo (Arg) 72 78; Z Scotland  (Eng) 75 75; J Remesy (Fra) 74 76; C Paisley  (Eng) 74 76; S Thornton (Irl) 75 75

151 J Edfors (Swe) 73 78; M Ford (Eng) 74 77; M Tullo (Chi) 70 81; J Quesne  (Fra) 75 76; P Price (Wal) 73 78

152 C Cévaër (Fra) 78 74; M Ilonen  (Fin) 76 76; P Widegren  (Swe) 71 81; C Brazillier  (Fra) 72 80; R Coles (Eng) 75 77

153 N Tacher (Fra) 77 76; J Verselin (Fra) 81 72

154 J Lucquin (Fra) 76 78

155 F Andersson Hed (Swe) 79 76; K Horne (RSA) 79 76; M Wiegele  (Aut) 74 81; G Boyd  (Eng) 81 74; J Walters (RSA) 72 83; J Olazábal (Esp) 77 78

156 G Cambis  (Fra) 75 81; J Lara (Esp) 71 85; A Kaleka  (Fra) 78 78

157 G Hazelby (Eng) 84 73; J Kruger (RSA) 75 82; M Delpodio  (Ita) 76 81; B Rumford (Aus) 78 79; P Larrazábal (Esp) 80 77; B Åkesson (Swe) 74 83

159 J Gonnet  (Fra) 78 81; J Sjöholm (Swe) 79 80; J Brun (am) (Fra) 77 82

167 A Schwartz (Fra) 82 85;

 ** E Kofstad (Nor) 73 WD;