The Alps Tour is back in action as the 2023 Hauts de France-Pas de Calais Golf Open co-sanctioned event gets underway, with Ronan Mullarney and Paul McBride leading the Irish challenge from the 14th-16th of September.
The tournament is the 13th and final tournament of the regular season, and the field is split between Ladies European Tour Access Series (LETAS) – in which Ireland’s Abigail O’Riordan is taking part and the Alps Tour.
It will be a crucial week for the Alps Tour players who are trying to capture the decisive points and make a final move in the Order of Merit rank as the top five players at the end of the season will gain access to the 2024 Challenge Tour.
A strong field of players will compete this week with most this season’s past winners competing like the season opener’s Champion, England’s Jack Floydd, the 2023 Abruzzo Alps Open, France’s Oihan Guillamoundeguy, and the 2023 Gosser Open champion Ronan Mullarney.
All the Top 10 players in the current Alps Tour Order of Merit rankings will be competing in France except for current leader Kiet Van der Weele, who earned his Challenge Tour card after he captured his third win of the season.
The players will be competing for a prize fund of € 40.000 and 45,000 Order of Merit points and the 2023 Hauts de France- Pas de Calais Golf Open winner will earn €6,400 and 6,525 Order of Merit points.
The format of the event is a 54 holes stroke play where a cut will be made after 36 holes to the top 30 players and ties.
The course
Aa Saint-Omer Golf Club is 6182 meters, par 71 course in Saint-Omer, France, which opened for play in 1990. It is the only golf course in France designed by Dutch golfer, Joan Dudok van Heel. It is set in the middle of a natural site, with spectacular views of the Valley of the AA. The course has an undulating terrain surrounded by trees that offer various challenges to each player. Aa Saint-Omer Golf Club is ranked among the top 30 courses in Northern France. It is home to 27 holes: an 18 holes championship course and a nine holes course, which is ideal for beginners or players wanting to improve their short game.
It has hosted an annual professional tournament since 1997 on several different tours. In 2000, it became part of the European Challenge Tour. In 2003, it became an official DP World Tour event. It was removed from the DP World Tour schedule in 2014 as the tournament took place during the same week as the US Open. Thus, it remained a Challenge Tour event until last year, when it became a co-sanctioned Alps Tour and LETAS tournament.
Ronan Mullarney gets his first round underway at 1.20pm local time, 2.20pm Irish time with Paul McBride underway 20 minutes later off the first hole.
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