'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAb/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAE/9oADAMBAAIQAxAAAACotgS//8QAIhAAAgIABAcAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDBAAFBhIREyQxQVHS/9oACAEBAAE/ALWqXo60r3Ya6rlcEIqcncxEkTuC0u0EKH78MPdyje3UefTfOP/EABgRAAIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAwRB/9oACAECAQE/AI7bvh//xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAwD/2gAIAQMBAT8ApAnf/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Matthieu Pavon shot 3-under 69 in the fourth round of the Farmers Insurance Open to win his first-ever PGA Tour title. He aggregated at 13-under, beating Nicolai Hojgaard, Jake Knapp, and Nate Lashley by one stroke to become the first-ever Frenchman to win on the PGA Tour.
Pavon was at 10-under, one stroke back after the 54 holes. However, he upped his game with a 69 on the fourth day at Torrey Pines. The 54-hole leader, Stephan Jaeger, could only shoot an even-par 72 on Sunday and slipped to joint third at 11-under.
Last year, Pavon won the Spanish Open, his first title on the DP World Tour and now he is a PGA Tour winner. Speaking on his recent successes, he said:
"So being successful first in Europe last year was big, and now on the PGA TOUR for me is just amazing. I think it is historic for the French golf. We have Celine Boutier, the French LPGA player who won Evian last year, which is an even bigger performance.
"It is big for us as a country. 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, it's pretty big"
The 31-year-old golfer said that the win was special. He said:
"I can't thank the PGA TOUR enough to give us the opportunity to come from Europe and compete here in America against the best players in the world. That's always been the dream for me. I got finally a shot and I took it. I mean, it's a dream come true and it's a little bit hard to believe."
The Frenchman now has a shot to qualify for the Paris Olympics later this year, as he will jump inside the top 60. He said it would be a huge thing to play at the Olympics.
"Since I’m kid I’m watching it," he said. "I have a good friend of mine, Julien Quesne, was my mentor and is still my mentor to be fair, he did that Olympics in Rio and told me how cool was it. Yeah, it’s definitely one of my goals this year to qualify and represent my country in Paris. Looks like I’m on a pretty good shot right now," Pavon added.
Pavon comes from a sporting family. His father, Michel Pavon, played soccer for Toulouse, Montpellier, and Bordeaux and then worked as a coach. His grandfather, Ignacio 'Pepito' Pavon, was also a professional soccer player.
Where will Matthieu Pavon play next?
Matthieu Pavon will next compete at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which will take place from February 1 to 4 at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in California. It will be the second signature event of the 2024 season and the second no-cut event of the year.
The 31-year-old golfer has earned a spot in the short field of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after securing a victory at the Farmers Insurance Open. Besides him, Grayson Murray, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Kevin Yu, and Stephan Jaeger are the other four players to enter the field as the top FedEx Cup point earners across three full-field events.
