Alstom Open De France Live Stream European Tour Online Broadcast

The French Open is the oldest national open on continental Europe. It was first contested at La Boulie in 1906 and was won by home player Arnaud Massy. He took his national title three more times, lastly in 1925 when he was 48-years-old.

The French Open has been a fixture on the European Tour schedule since 1972. It's one of the most prestigious events on the circuit and now one of the richest. It's been won by Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Greg Norman and Colin Montgomerie amongst others.

Last season Miguel Angel Jimenez looked to be cruising to victory, two shots clear with one hole to play. But he dunked his approach to the final green into the water and ended up tied with Alejandro Canizares and Francesco Molinari. The first playoff hole witnessed a catalogue of errors with Canizares in the water twice and Molinari in the fairway bunker from the tee. Jimenez pulled his second shot to the left of the green but was able to get up-and-down for a par and the win.

A strong field will compete for the €500,000 winner's cheque this week. World Number three and 2009 champion Martin Kaymer heads the field, long-hitting Bubba Watson has made the journey across the Atlantic and the Italian trio of Francesco Molinari, Edoardo Molinari and Matteo Manassero will be looking to make an impact.

Le Golf National was designed on flat farmland near the Palace of Versailles. The layout is the work of architect Hubert Chesneau and construction began in 1987. In 1990 the course was open for play. This will be the 19th time the course has been used as the venue for the Open de France.

Venue: Le Golf National, Paris, France

Date: Jun 30 - Jul 3

Course stats: par 71, 7,300 yards

Purse: €3,000,000 Winner: €500,000

Defending Champion: Miguel Angel Jimenez

Player Watch:

Francesco Molinari - The Italian was tied second in this event last year after losing a playoff to Miguel Angel Jimenez. He's an extremely consistent driver and good ball-striker and those are essential attributes around this layout.

Peter Hanson - The Swede finished in an excellent seventh place at the US Open and was fourth in the Wales Open before that. He also finished in the top-10 in this event last year.