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With his victory at the Farmers Insurance Open, Matthieu Pavon became the first Frenchman to win a PGA Tour tournament since 1907. This generated all kinds of emotions among his compatriots, starting with the announcers who were describing the round.
Adrien Toubiana and Francois Calmels were the French announcers describing the Farmers Insurance Open for their country on Canal+ France. They had the honor of broadcasting the historic triumph of their countryman live.
The PGA Tour posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) capturing the moment of Matthieu Pavon's victory, with the original audio of the description in French.
“He writes the history of male French golf!” The French announce call for @MatthieuPavon’s first TOUR win is electric."
Toubiana and Calmels' description was so moving that it went viral. They described the moment of Matthieu Pavon's victory as follows (text and translation via X @PGATOUR):
"Toubiana: Matthieu Pavon! becomes the first French player to win a tournament on the PGA Tour! Fabulous! Who would have thought? For his third tournament as a member of the PGA Tour, he writes the history of the male French golf. You are a champion Matthieu! You have an enormous heart! You are simply a great one!"
"Calmels: The day of glory has come, Adrien. A French win. What a putt! What a birdie! Matthieu Pavon, where did he find all this?"
"Toubiana: The guts, the mental toughness of Matthieu Pavon, to make this last birdie when we thought he might be fighting for par and maybe go to a playoff at best. And no. With talent, with his heart, he gets this win!"
Matthieu Pavon and the state of French golf
The excitement of the French announcers with the performance of Pavon at Torrey Pines is not accidental. It had been 117 years since a Frenchman had won outside the European circuits.
Even Arnaud Massy's victory in 1907 could be considered a "European victory". However, having won it at The Open Championship, its magnitude far exceeds continental frameworks.
After Massy became a Major champion, several French players came to prominence, and there have even been those with outstanding careers in Europe. Jean Van de Velde finished T2 in The Open Championship in 1999 and Thomas Levet imitated him in 2002.
But neither had been able to take their country's name to the next level until Pavon's victory at the Farmers Insurance Open.
It is fair to say that the situation is very different in women's golf. For instance, Celine Boutier won a Major tournament in 2023 and has won six times on the LPGA Tour.
Pavon's victory placed him 34th in the world rankings, making him the highest-ranked Frenchman in the world today. This would give him one of the two spots to represent France in the Olympic Games to be held in his country in the summer of 2024.
