PREVIEW: The French Open

The European Tour makes a stop off in France when it travels to the capital for the coveted French Open, and with more vital Ryder Cup points on offer, a high-profile field has turned out in force.

The current European Ryder Cup leader Lee Westwood played magnificently in the US Open and just lost out - as you may know - and in his first tournament since his 72nd-hole heartbreak, he is the hot favourite to continue his form into France. Westwood looks to be England's best chance after the news that Luke Donald has withdrawn. Home-grown talent Thomas Levet, stalwart of two Ryder Cups, is in his own backyard and would, and could, cause an upset if he keeps it tight.

Last week's fantastic performance in Germany allowed Martin Kaymer to seal his second Tour win and, with his first three rounds of 18 under, he is in amazing touch. His play-off victory showed his ability to work under pressure and going into a tournament after a victory always brings pressure with it. Another hopeful in Pool B is Robert Karlsson. The Swede had a fine tournament at Torrey Pines, and a week's break will have done him no end of good, expect a refreshed Karlsson and a great performance.

Other than last week current Order of Merit leader Miguel Angel Jimenez is making cut after cut with considerable ease, and he should be a dead-cert from Pool C to earn you some much needed points, and who knows, the Mechanic could even pull another victory out of the bag. A good pick from this pool could also be Anders Hansen. The great Dane carded four solid rounds in Germany last week, only to be edged out by Kaymer with a fine birdie - his consistency should earn him a start in your line-up.

And what about Monty? He'll be out to prove that he should be a Ryder Cup pick, and after a
top-20 finish in Germany, should be in good enough nick to do it. And defending champion Graeme Storm could be a wise choice. The Brit obviously knows what it takes to win in France and will find great confidence from his win in '07. Can he become only the fourth player ever to defend his French Open title?

Pool E's form players this week come in the shape of NCG columnist Ross Fisher and Indian star Jyoti Randhawa. Ross' top 20 in Germany will stand him in good stead heading to Paris, and the points he could potentially receive for a win would boost his hopes for Valhalla 10-fold. Randhawa, on the other hand, has only pride to play for. His top 50 in Germany proves that he's back in the thick of it, and could earn you a few much-needed points to make your way up our leaderboard.

Below is a full-list of players who are entered into the tournament**.

Pool A
Angel Cabrera
Lee Westwood
Darren Clarke
Paul McGinley
Oliver Wilson
Thomas Levet
Alexander Noren
Pablo Martin
Ignacio Garrido

Pool B
Martin Kaymer
Ian Poulter
Richard Sterne
Robert Karlsson
Soren Hansen
Rory McIlroy
Johan Edfors
David Howell

Pool C
MA Jimenez
Richard Green
Nick Dougherty
Anders Hansen
Bradley Dredge
Peter Hanson
Damien McGrane
Peter Lawrie
Hennie Otto

Pool D
Colin Montgomerie
Charl Schwartzel
Soren Kjeldsen
Simon Dyson
Steve Webster
Mikko Ilonen
Richard Finch
Graeme Storm*

Pool E
Louis Oosthuizen
Jyoti Randhawa
Jeev Milka Singh
James Kingston
Graeme McDowell
Ross Fisher
Ross McGowan
Raphael Jacquelin

* Denotes Wildcard(s)
** Please note that this field of players is strictly based on those who have entered the tournament, any withdrawals are out of our control and will result in zero points for that player