42 the World Of golfing
events - Pont Royal
Pont Royal Hopps Into Action For
Second Challenge Tour Visit
Events
The second Hopps Open de Provence
will return to the renowned Seve
Ballesteros-designed golf course at Golf
International Pont Royal, Provence, in
September, as the European Challenge
Tour’s high-flyers look to secure the final
points to guarantee a place on the 2020
European Tour. The top 15 golfers on the ranking at
the end of the season automatically
earn a Tour card, and one of last year’s
successful group David Law - who
finished tied sixth at Pont Royal last year
- has already stood atop the European
Tour winner’s podium, at the ISPS Handa
Vic Open, in Australia, in February. The 2018 Hopps Open de Provence was
hailed by the players for its support as it
provided one of the largest crowds of the
year on the tour. It was the last French
event of the season and golf fans in the
region flocked to the course to witness
the dramatic finale which saw Langasque
triumph by three shots.
The inaugural event, in 2018, was won
last year by 24-year-old Frenchman
Romain Langasque, who subsequently
won a place on this year’s European
Tour through qualifying school, despite
finishing 19th on the Challenge Tour
ranking. And Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, who
came so close to winning the recent
British Masters, failed even to make the
cut at Pont Royal, last year, highlighting
the quality of both the golf and the
course. Once again, the event at Pont Royal
will be the last visit to France made by
the Challenge Tour in 2019, so both
the tension and the crowd will be
considerable.