The incredible story of Matthieu Pavon’s journey to playing and winning on the PGA Tour

Matthieu Pavon recently emerged as a notable figure in the PGA circuit by securing his maiden Tour victory at the Farmers Insurance Open. The 31-year-old golfer finished one stroke ahead of Nicolai Højgaard at the Torrey Pines South Course.

With this victory, Pavon distinguished himself as the first French golfer to clinch a PGA Tour victory in over a century, a milestone last achieved by Arnaud Massy. Matthieu Pavon also earned a spot in all the Majors for the 2024 season.

His latest win also made him jump to the 34th spot on the OWGR list. Pavon’s story is inspirational in every way as he worked hard to reach where he is today.

Flushing It shared the golfer’s incredible story on X (formerly Twitter):

Matthieu Pavon also recently confessed that he finds constant motivation from the tattoo on his hand which reads - "The saliva that flows now will become the tears of joy tomorrow."

Following his victory, Pavon emphasized the significance of this phrase in his life. He was quoted as saying via the PGA Tour:

“It’s really a meaningful sentence for me. And this is why I work hard every day, to get those tears back when I lift the trophy.”

Just last year, the talented French golfer got his PGA Tour card for the 2024 season after winning his first-ever DP World Tour event. He finished in the top 10 of the 2023 DP World Tour eligibility rankings.

Pavon has played three PGA Tour tournaments so far. He started his season at the Sony Open in Hawaii where he finished T7 on the leaderboard. He was just three strokes behind the winner, Grayson Murray. Pavon next competed in The American Express, finishing in the T39 position.

---

A look into Matthieu Pavon’s golfing journey

Matthieu Pavon grew up playing football just like his father, Michel Pavon. However, at the age of 17, he developed an interest in golf. He came to America and joined hands with a caddie, Ken Martin, to ultimately start his golfing journey. However, when he eventually returned to France, he found no success playing as an amateur.

Matthieu Pavon embarked on a professional golf career in 2013. At that point, he was the 890th-ranked amateur in the world. After a spell of professional play, he considered giving up the game because he had a chipping yips problem.

However, the golfer attempted to resolve the swing issue and continued playing. Now, years later, he has a PGA Tour victory. Speaking about the same, Pavon revealed (via BBC):

“It is big for our 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 is pretty big."

Pavon's career has been a fascinating journey, marked by transitions across various tours as he pursued the ambition of setting remarkable records in the golf world.

The son of a former professional soccer player, Pavon first joined the Alps Tour, a developmental professional golf tour for men, in 2014 and 2015. In his debut year on the tour, he secured a victory.

Pavon clinched his first professional victory at the Open International de Rebetz in 2014, finishing one stroke ahead of Baptiste Chapellan and Thomas Elissalde. The following year, the French professional golfer secured his second victory at the Servizitalia Open, triumphing in a playoff round over Gerard Piris.

Matthieu Pavon then joined the European Challenge Tour for the 2016 Season. Although he failed to clinch a win on the tour, he was able to get some of his best finishes that year.

The following year, he participated in the European Tour after earning the official card. He finished 49th in the Order of Merit the same season. Pavon is still competing on the DP World Tour, where he has only one win.

Last year, the six-time professional winner won at the Acciona Open de España. He clinched the win over Zander Lombard by four strokes in Spain.

Pavon also boasts two victories on the French Tour, with his first win coming at the Open Mont de Marsan. He achieved a four-stroke victory over Guillaume Cambis and Louis Cohen-Boyer.

Matthieu Pavon then won the Internationaux de France Professionnels de Double event alongside Julien Quesne. The team defeated Axel de Smet and Christopher Mivis by a two-stroke margin.