Matthieu Pavon grew to become the primary participant to win a PGA Tour occasion beneath the French flag since World War II when he made an 8-foot putt on No. 18 at Torrey Pines South on Saturday for a dramatic birdie and a one-shot victory within the Farmers Insurance Open.
He raised his arms in celebration and shouted earlier than hugging caddie Mark Sherwood after the putt rolled in because the municipal gem excessive above the Pacific Ocean glowed beneath the late-afternoon solar.
Pavon glowed, too. He mentioned he nearly give up golf 10 years in the past due to the yips.
“It is big for our country,” the 31-year-old PGA Tour rookie mentioned. “I hope it will inspire a lot of people, because coming from an amateur player which is 800 in the world to a PGA Tour winner is pretty big.
“I still can’t believe it,” mentioned Pavon, who grew up enjoying soccer — his dad was an expert participant — earlier than switching to golf. “It feels like there is another round to play tomorrow because we’re only Saturday.”
The Farmers ended Saturday to keep away from going up towards the NFL’s convention championship video games.
Pavon’s final-round 3-under 69 put him at 13 beneath, one stroke higher than Nicolai Hojgaard. Pavon was two pictures forward of Stephan Jaeger, who led after the second and third rounds, and Nicolai Hojgaard and Nate Lashley.
French-American Martin Trainer gained his first PGA Tour occasion on the 2019 Puerto Rico Open, an alternate occasion, whereas representing the United States. He later switched his nationality to France.
Pavon took the lead on the twelfth gap, constructed the benefit to 2 strokes after which missed a 3-foot putt on the par-4 seventeenth for a bogey that minimize his result in one stroke.
His solely birdie on the again 9 saved him from a playoff.
He gave the impression to be in bother on the par-5, 541-yard 18th when his drive landed in a sand lure, about 4 inches from the entrance lip. His second shot went 103 yards into the left tough, which was excessive due to heavy rain Monday, with 145 yards to the outlet. He responded with an excellent third shot inside 8 ft.
After watching Hojgaard’s 300-yard drive down the center of the green, “I was like, ‘OK, it’s going to be spicy now. I might have to do a birdie or something special,’” Pavon mentioned.
After ending up within the lure after which not getting again to the green, he and Sherwood mentioned whether or not he ought to lay up or go for it.
“I was like, ‘Listen, like the lie doesn’t look too bad, I feel like I can do it.’ He said ’OK, but it’s your call.’
“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. That ball came out like a butterfly and 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.”
Pavon, who was born in Toulouse, was enjoying in simply his eleventh PGA Tour occasion. He has one victory on the European Tour.
Pavon pulled right into a tie for the lead with Jaeger with a birdie on the par-5 ninth. They stayed tied till the par-4 twelfth, when Pavon made a brief par putt to take the lead whereas Jaeger missed his for bogey.
Pavon rolled a 34-foot putt excellent on 14 that will have given him a three-stroke lead. He made a 24-foot par putt on 16 to remain two strokes forward and pumped his fist.
Pavon mentioned it’s all the time been his dream to play in America.
“Since I came to America for the first time to practice in West Palm, I loved everything about America; the mentality, the sport, everything you guys do. It feels like I’m an American somehow.
He said he’s felt no pressure playing in America. “If I fail, I could just go back in Europe and start again. So it was just like trying to do your best every day, enjoy every moment because they are special ones.”
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Pavon remembers watching this event on TV a number of instances. He obtained his first have a look at Torrey Pines in individual within the rain and fog on Monday, when he walked the South Course with Sherwood and simply three balls and a putter to check the greens.
“It was foggy. I mean, I couldn’t see 100 yards away from me, so I was like, ‘OK, nice, welcome to California.’ ”
He shot an opening-round 69 on the North Course on Wednesday after which an excellent 65 on the South Course on Thursday that had him simply two pictures off the lead.
As he started his second spherical, “It is like, ‘Oh, there is a fairway, there is the rough, there is a cliff. So everything was kind of brand new for me. But I was disciplined on my foggy practice round on where could be the pins and I had a good look at it.
“You know, it feels like when you don’t really know what you’re going to be faced with and you don’t have any expectation, this is sometimes when you show the best and this is clearly what happened.”