François Calmels (born 11 December 1981) is a French

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who currently plays on the

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

Early life

Calmels was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. 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 career

Calmels was a distinguished amateur. He won the 2004 Coupe Mouchy (highest amateur competition in France) and the 2006 Portuguese Amateur Open Championship.

Professional career

In 2006, Calmels turned professional and won twice during his first season on the Alps Tour, one of Europe's third tier developmental

professional golf tour Professional golf tours are the means by which otherwise unconnected professional golf tournaments are organized into a regular schedule. There are separate tours for men and women; most are based in a specific geographical region, although some to ...

s. He won for the first time on the second-tier European

Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour, currently titled as the HotelPlanner Tour for sponsorship reasons and also sometimes referred to as the European Challenge Tour, is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European To ...

in May 2009, when he claimed the

Telenet Trophy The KPMG Trophy is a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, played in Belgium. It was first played in May 2006 as the Telenet Trophy at Limburg G&CC in Houthalen-Helchteren, and has rotated through several other venues throughout its history. Winn ...

by one stroke over Spaniard Carlos Rodiles - one week after watching his girlfriend,

Jade Schaeffer Jade Schaeffer (born 1 July 1986) is a French professional golfer. She played on the Ladies European Tour and won the 2009 Ladies German Open and the 2011 Raiffeisenbank Prague Golf Masters. Career Schaeffer had success as an amateur and won the ...

make her

Ladies European Tour The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1978. Most of the players on the tour are European, with members from more than 40 countries internationally. Despite its name, the tour also has tournaments in A ...

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

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

Calmels has long been a friend of

champion golfer and fellow Frenchman

Grégory Havret Grégory Havret (born 25 November 1976) is a French professional golfer. Amateur career Havret won the French Amateur Championship three years in a row from 1997 to 1999, and in 1999 he won the European Amateur. He also won a minor professional ...

Amateur wins

*2004

Coupe Murat The French International Amateur Championship is an annual amateur golf tournament that is held in France and organised by the Fédération Française de Golf. The French Open Amateur Championship was established in 1904 and used match play format ...

(French Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship), Coupe Mouchy *2005 Portuguese International Amateur Open Championship

Professional wins (7)

Challenge Tour wins (3)

Alps Tour wins (2)

French Tour wins (2)

Team appearances

Amateur *

European Amateur Team Championship The European Amateur Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for men organised by the European Golf Association which was introduced in 1959. The championship was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been ...

(representing France):

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Calmels, Francois French male golfers European Tour golfers Golfers from Paris 1981 births Living people 21st-century French sportsmen