Matthieu Pavon recently triumphed at the Farmers Insurance Open and became the first French golfer since WWII to win a PGA Tour event. Pavon is a native of Toulouse, France, who turned professional in 2013. He previously played in the Alps Tour and Challenge Tour and now plays for the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
The 30-year-old golfer won once on the DP World Tour in the Spanish Open over Zander Lombard with four strokes. His total at the end of the tournament was 23-under-261. Pavon had to struggle a lot to come into the world of golf. His father and grandfather were soccer players and that created huge pressure on him. His father is Michael Pavon, who played soccer on a professional level.
Hence, growing up in a family that was entirely focused on a different sport was difficult for Pavon given his inclination towards golf. Amidst this, the only person who supported him was his mother, who was associated with golf. Thus, from there on, he chased his dream and gather a few triumphs along the way. Now, let’s take a look at Pavon’s career so far!
Matthieu Pavon’s Career Before And After His Farmers Insurance Open Win
After turning professional, Pavon played on the Alps Tour in 2014 and 2015. There, he defeated Baptiste Chapellan and Thomas Elissalde to win the Open International de Rebetz by one stroke. He went on to triumph the Servizitalia Open the very next year beating Gerard Piris in a playoff round.
In the next year, he switched to the Challenge Tour. Although he never saw victory on the tour, he finished in second place three times at the Turkish Airlines Challenge and the Foshan Open. Then, at the end of 2016, he acquired a place in the Road to Oman ranks and got a place on the European Tour.
He had only one triumph on the tour and that too after seven years at the Spanish Open. This was quite emotional for him and he went on to describe how he felt for those seven years.
“That was a very long wait. Seven years on tour and I didn’t have a win yet. But it really was worth it. A part of my heart is here in Spain. My grandfather lived here. It was really hard to keep the tears inside but now I can let it go a little bit.”
His best finish at a major was at the 2018 US Open, where he secured a T25 place. Now, after his first win on the PGA Tour, he also became the first French golfer to win on the tour after World War II. He secured a final round score of 69 and a total of 13 under to finish on Sunday.
Clutch from the thick stuff.
@MatthieuPavon knocks it to 8 feet for a birdie look @FarmersInsOpen. pic.twitter.com/LobyRFTnRZ— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 28, 2024
The most captivating sight was Pavon’s age-old putter handling the rough after the 17th hole and how he turned the unsuccessful bogey into a birdie on the 18th.
“I still can’t believe it. It feels like there is another round to play tomorrow because we’re only Saturday.”
He later also explained in the interview how he tackled the tough course when the ball was sand-trapped.
“It’s my call. And I was so pumped at that time, I know I had the energy to lift that ball up on the green. I kind of aimed to the middle of the green knowing the face would close a little bit because it’s quite deep and thick…it really feed the slope on the green. That was the right time to prove I have the guts to finish that tournament and I did it so I’m so happy about that last hole.”
His performance through the first nine holes, where he bagged four birdies, picked up the game for him already and the putt on the 18th sealed his triumph. The 8-foot putt on Torrey Pines for a dramatic birdie made him secure his first PGA Tour title. He celebrated the moment with his caddie, Mark Sherwood. As Pavon won the Farmers Insurance Open, he has marked his place on the tour, and in the coming days, he hopes to cement his place as a top golfer.
