DATE: June 14-17, 2012

LOCATION: Aa Saint Omer Club, Lumbres, France

European Tour Golf Betting Odds: For the 13th successive season the SAINT-OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC will take place at the Aa Saint Omer Golf Club in northern France. Once again, it will also have the honor of being the only event in 2012 to be dual ranked between The European Tour and the European Challenge Tour.

The tournament was founded in 1997 and was part of the MasterCard Tour a year later, before taking its place on the Challenge Tour for the 2000 season. In 2003 it also became an official money event on the European Tour, but since it is played during the same week as the U.S. Open, one of golf's four major championships, the Tour's leading players are not available to play and as such, it has the smallest purse available on the European Tour. The tournament is similar to a Nationwide Tour event in the states, although the Nationwide Tour will have a stronger field.

There have been 12 different winners of the SAINT-OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC with no player winning more than once since the tournament's inception in 2000. Since it joined The European Tour International Schedule, all eight champions have made the event their first European Tour victory.

A small purse and a weak field will give everyone in the field a great opportunity to break through and grab their first European title. First place will earn $100,000 – that is equivalent to a top-20 finish at the U.S. Open played the same week or a win on the Nationwide Tour. The only difference is that whoever wins this year's SAINT-OMER OPEN, it will count as an official win on the European Tour and earn points for the Race to Dubai.

2011 Saint-Omer Open Winner - Matthew Zions Wins Golf’s Saint-Omer Open for First European Tour Victory

Matthew Zions of Australia scored a final-round 69, 2-under par, to win golf’s Saint-Omer Open by seven shots today, his first victory on the European Tour.

The 32-year-old finished on 8-under par at Lumbres, France. England’s Daniel Denison, Peter Gustafsson of Sweden and Scotland’s Craig Lee were joint second. The winner received a check for 100,000 euros ($143,000).

Earlier today, Chawalit Plaphol won the Queen’s Cup in Thailand for his first Asian Tour victory in five years.

The 36-year-old Thai’s final-round 3-under par 68 saw him finish on 11-under, two shots clear of compatriot Prayad Marksaeng, to take the winner’s check for $47,550. Daisuke Maruyama of Japan was third, four shots further back, at Koh Samui.