Why is a French European Tour winner like a bus?
A. You wait ages for one, then two come at once! For the second time this year, France’s golfers have won back-to-back tournaments on the European Tour. Jean-Francois Lucquin’s play-off success at last weekend’s Omega European Masters trophy in Crans-sur-Sierre came hot on the heels of Gregory Havret’s wire-to-wire win at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, Scotland. Earlier this year, Thomas Levet won the Open de Andalucia and Gregory Bourdy lifted the Estoril Open de Portugal title in successive weeks. All four qualify for the HSBC Champions in November and anyone looking to understand why French wins come in convoys need only follow them when they arrive in Shanghai to find the answer. No other group in golf has the camaraderie, the spirit of togetherness and the mutual support system that exists among the French players; a characteristic that allows them to succeed despite that fact that golf is a relatively low-profile sport there when compared to other European nations
