Rex Hoggard has revealed what surprised him about Le Golf National when he arrived in Paris ahead of the Olympic golf event.
Many of the world’s best players are in France for the third staging of Olympic golf since the sport returned to the Games after more than a century in 2016.
Le Golf National is no stranger to hosting big events, having hosted Open de France almost continuously since 1991. But of course, the event Le Golf National is most famous for is the 2018 Ryder Cup where Europe thrashed the US to regain the trophy.
Winning an away Ryder Cup has become one of the toughest tasks in golf, with Medinah proving to be the only time since 1995 that the away side has left with the Samuel Ryder Trophy. And 2018 perhaps helps highlight why the challenge is so large, with Thomas Bjorn making sure that the course played to Europe’s strengths.
Le Golf National springs a surprise ahead of the Olympics
Anyone who completely prioritised distance over accuracy was penalised by the severity of the rough. Few will forget how torrid a time Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau had together in the Friday foursomes. Mickelson would not play again until the Sunday singles.
It seems that some expected the course to be playing slightly easier this week. But speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Hoggard suggested that the track is still going to punish those who are wayward off the tee.
“I’m actually a little surprised that the rough is thicker than we would have anticipated coming in,” he said.
“We all remember what it looked like in 2018 at the Ryder Cup. It was brutal, Thomas Bjorn clearly set that up for his team to their advantage – it worked perfectly as the Europeans rolled to victory. I was not expecting that, just thinking this is an Olympic competition, I don’t think the organisers are trying to punish anyone, we also have another event with the women next week, but it is thicker than I would have imagined.”
Trying to strike right balance
Golf courses often have to find the right balance that ensures that they are a fair test. And Le Golf National is arguably under greater pressure given that golf is still re-establishing itself as an Olympic event, so it is important that they provide the stage for an exciting tournament.
The PGA Championship provided a brilliant finish as Xander Schauffele held off Bryson DeChambeau to clinch his first major title, but the event was criticised for becoming too much of a birdie-fest.
Certainly, it feels essential that players are rewarded for finding fairways and punished for missing them, and Le Golf National have seemingly kept that in mind this week.
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