This week the Ladies European Tour (LET) is in Normandy for the 34th staging of the Lacoste Ladies Open de France. A total of 96 players from 29 nations will tee up at the Diane Barrière course at Golf Barrière with Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson defending her title.
Before play gets underway in the 54-hole event on Thursday 26th September, here are five storylines to keep an eye on in France…
NOSTALGIC CHAMPIONS
We start with Gustavsson who returns to Deauville 12 months on from an emotional breakthrough win. After eight years on Tour and several near misses, the Swede finally got her long-awaited maiden win last time out securing a three-shot victory over compatriot Moa Folke.
As popular a figure as any on the LET, Gustavsson – last season’s Players’ Player of the Year – returns to France with fond memories and will hope nostalgia can play a factor in her return to form. She currently sits 30th in the Order of Merit thanks to four top-10 finishes in the Spring.
In a similar vein sits Morocco’s Ines Laklalech. Like Gustavsson, the Olympian delivered an emotional breakthrough winning moment in 2022 when she beat Meghan MacLaren in a playoff to become the first Moroccan, Arab, and North African champion on the LET.
Returning to Deauville for the first time since that historic day (the 26-year-old was competing on the LPGA last year), Laklalech too will be feeling nostalgic as she looks to deliver at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France once again.
BRILLIANT BRIEM
Another history maker teeing up in France is Germany’s Helen Briem, winner of last week’s La Sella Open. The former World No 1 Amateur has had an incredible breakthrough season winning four times on the LET Access Series (LETAS) before her heroics in Spain last week – a result which saw her earn full LET membership.
This season, Briem – a member of last year’s winning PING Junior Solheim Cup and Junior Ryder Cup teams – has finished T11, runner-up, W, W, W, T4, W and W in her eight starts on both circuits.
With the par-71 Golf Barierre favouring a long-hitter in wet conditions, expect to see the 19-year-old German’s name in contention once again.
ALLEZ LES BLEUS
All eyes will be on the home faithful this week with no fewer than 17 French players teeing up in Deauville. Included in this list is 2015 champion Celine Herbin and two-time LET winner Anne-Lise Caudal. The latter will be making her 20th appearance at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France this year which marks a fantastic milestone.
Elsewhere, LET winners Camille Chevalier, Anne-Charlotte Mora and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard are all in the field. PING Junior Solheim Cup players Sara Brentcheneff and Alice Kong have also been given an invite. The latter is the youngest player in the field at 14-years-old.
RED-HOT ROUSSIN
On the topic of Roussin-Bouchard, few players arrive in France in better form and as desperate to get a victory than the ever-energetic Frenchwoman.
The two-time LET winner has been loving life back on the circuit this season, returning to her very best with a runner-up finish in Morocco and two runner-up finishes in the last two events at the La Sella Open and the KPMG Women’s Irish Open (the latter a playoff defeat to Annabel Dimmock).
Roussin-Bouchard is now sixth in the Order of Merit thanks to her recent rich form and undoubtably leads the home charge in Deauville.
ORDER OF MERIT HEATS UP
Last but not least, this week sees the Order of Merit – the season long competition to crown the LET’s number one player – heat up once again with the top three players all teeing up in Normandy.
Leading the charge remains rookie Chiara Tamburlini from Switzerland on 1,418.44 points. Hot her heels are England’s Bronte Law and Belgium’s Manon De Roey, the pair on 1,333.23 and 1,294.46 points respectively, meaning we could see further change in the rankings with a clutch performance from either.
The 2024 Lacoste Ladies Open de France gets underway on Thursday morning.
You can follow all the action throughout the event on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #RaiseOurGame | #LLODF
