François Calmels (born 11 December 1981) is a French professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.

François Calmels
Personal information
Born (1981-12-11) 11 December 1981 (age 42)
Paris, France
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb; 12.9 st)
Sporting nationality France
ResidenceVillemomble, France
Career
Turned professional2006
Former tour(s)European Tour
Challenge Tour
Professional wins7
Number of wins by tour
Challenge Tour3
Other4
Achievements and awards
Alps Tour
Order of Merit winner
2006

Career

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Calmels was born in Paris. He was a distinguished amateur, winning the 2004 Coupe Mouchy (highest amateur competition in France), and the 2006 Portuguese Amateur Open Championship. He turned professional in 2006 and won twice during his first season on the Alps Tour, one of Europe's third tier developmental professional golf tours. He won for the first time on the second-tier European Challenge Tour in May 2009, when he claimed the Telenet Trophy by one stroke over Spaniard Carlos Rodiles - one week after watching his girlfriend, Jade Schaeffer make her Ladies European Tour breakthrough at the Hypo Vereinsbank Ladies German Open, he followed her into the winner's enclosure by birdieing the last two holes at Royal Waterloo Golf Club to win by one stroke.

In 2007 and 2010, Calmels played on both the European Tour and the Challenge Tour. His best finish on the European Tour was a tie for second at the 2007 Open de Saint-Omer, a tournament co-sanctioned by both tours. In November 2011 he was hurted in a lift accident and spent months recovering. He came back on Challenge Tour after Q school. In 2013 he was on Challenge Tour and finished the season 11th in ranking. He is back on European Tour for the 2014 season

Personal life

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Calmels has long been a friend of European Tour champion golfer and fellow Frenchman Grégory Havret.

Calmels turned seriously to golf at the age of eleven, he underwent several operations on his mouth after birth double cleft and was advised by doctors to take up a non-contact sport after being struck in the face playing handball – the game his father played in the French First Division – so he decided to concentrate on golf.

Amateur wins

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  • 2004 Coupe Murat (French Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship), Coupe Mouchy
  • 2005 Portuguese International Amateur Open Championship

Professional wins (7)

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Challenge Tour wins (3)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 31 May 2009 Telenet Trophy −12 (67-69-70-70=276) 2 strokes   Carlos Rodiles,   Sam Walker
2 27 Apr 2013 Challenge de Madrid −17 (63-69-72-67=271) 7 strokes   Tapio Pulkkanen
3 9 Jun 2013 D+D Real Czech Challenge Open −22 (67-69-65-65=266) 3 strokes   Robert Dinwiddie,   Adam Gee,
  Sam Walker

Alps Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 24 Mar 2006 Open de Mohammedia −14 (67-69-66=202) 2 strokes   Jacques Thalamy
2 1 Apr 2006 Trophée Maroc Telecom −10 (69-67-73=209) 2 strokes   Alessio Bruschi,   Laurent Richard

French Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 7 Dec 2013 AfrAsia Golf Masters −15 (67-69-65=201) 1 stroke   Hennie Otto
2 12 Apr 2014 Grand Prix Schweppes −17 (68-67-66-66=267) 1 stroke   Gary Stal

Team appearances

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Amateur

See also

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