Published July 17, 2008 on April 25, 2018

Rahm Relishing HNA Open de France Title Tilt

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World Number Four Jon Rahm will join defending champion Tommy Fleetwood in teeing it up at the HNA Open de France, the third Rolex Series event of the year, from June 28-July 1.

The in-form Open de España champion will return to Le Golf National after recording a tied tenth place finish at last year’s event as Race to Dubai champion Fleetwood triumphed on 12 under par.

Rahm has started this season with aplomb, securing a top 20 place at the WGC-Mexico Championship in March before recording his best-ever Major Championship finish at the Masters Tournament where he finished outright fourth pla.

The 23 year old, who hails from the Basque region of Spain, then clinched an emotional victory by triumphing at this year’s Open de España and in doing so became the sixth Spaniard to win the event.

The World Number Four signed for a closing 67 at Centro Nacional de Golf to finish the week on 20 under par, two shots ahead of overnight leader Paul Dunne of Ireland, with fellow Spaniard Nacho Elvira a shot further back in third place.

With his victory on home soil in Madrid, the Spaniard became the third fastest player of all-time to reach three European Tour wins.

This year’s HNA Open de France will once again take place at Le Golf National, the venue for The Ryder Cup on September 28-30, 2018, and will be the final tournament played at the course before Thomas Bjørn’s European team take on Jim Furyk’s American side.

Rahm, who secured two Rolex Series wins last season at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, is looking forward to teeing it up in France after a strong tournament last year and will be aiming to join a long list of esteemed Spaniards to win the event, including Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal.

“I am really excited to once again play in the HNA Open de France. It’s such a brilliant event and one I thoroughly enjoyed last year,” Rahm said.

“The course was in superb condition and I’m sure it will be just as good this time around. It’s a great place to play golf and I absolutely love Paris as a city with its culture and diverse range of things to do. The French fans are so passionate – you can really feed off their energy around the course.”

“The Rolex Series was a great addition to the European Tour last year and the events now have an added prestige around them. I was lucky enough to win two Rolex Series events last year and I am really looking forward to trying to add the HNA Open de France to my collection.”