Matthieu Pavon embarks on a title defense at the Farmers Insurance Open with aspirations of fulfilling a childhood ambition of making his Ryder Cup debut in 2025, something that seemed like a pipe dream less than 18 months ago.
As Team Europe reclaimed the Ryder Cup with an impressive 16.5-11.5 victory over Zach Johnson's United States in Rome in September 2023, Pavon was outside the world's top 200 and winless in his eighth season on the DP World Tour .
Less than four months later, Pavon reached the winner's circle on the DP World Tour, earning dual membership for the following season and becoming the first Frenchman in 117 years to win on the PGA Tour.
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Highlights of action from the final round of the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, where Pavon claimed a famous victory
Pavon returned to Torrey Pines as the defending champion this week, live on Sky Sports from Wednesday, with the Frenchman looking to build on his forgettable rookie season and enter Europe's Ryder Cup plans.
“I think sophomore year is always a confirmation year,” Pavon said ahead of his title defense at Torrey Pines. “It was a great starter (in 2024) but now it's time to confirm, it's time to show up again and try to win tournaments.
“This is a pretty big year for me because it's also Ryder Cup year. It's one of my goals that I've been chasing since I was a kid. There's a lot going on this year and I can't wait to get started.”
Can Pavon make more PGA Tour history at the Farmers Insurance Open?
How failure fueled Pavon's rise to PGA Tour success
Pavon has waited a long time to build his reputation in the sport, with eight years passing between his two early successes on the Alps Tour – a tier three circuit – and his breakthrough on the DP World Tour.
He changed driver and putter during the final week of the Ryder Cup, where he earned €6,000 and finished runner-up on the mini-tour in France, and the change soon followed a long-awaited success two weeks later at the Acciona Open de España.
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Final round highlights from the 2023 Open De Espana, where Pavon won and home favorite Jon Rahm missed out
The emotional four-shot victory came in his 185th appearance on the DP World Tour and in the hometown of his late grandfather, and his career was further transformed a month after finishing at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
Pavon birdied each of his final four holes to finish in the top five, his fifth world top-10 in a memorable 2024, earning his PGA Tour card and dual membership for next season from his Race to Dubai ranking position.
He immediately made a statement in America, winning the Farmers Insurance Open – in just his third PGA Tour start of the season – to become the first French winner on the PGA Tour since Arnaud Massy in 1907 and secure his invitation to all four tournaments.
Pavon impressed on his Masters debut, struggled at the US Open, represented France at the Olympics and reached the end-of-season tour during a torrid campaign, with previous struggles fueling him to succeed on the world stage.
“I think it's really the failure (that helped),” Pavon explained. “We keep saying it, but you can achieve great things before you fail many times, and I've had so many different failures in my career.
“When I was on the mini-tour in Europe, I failed to graduate from the Challenge Tour for four dollars in a year, which is nothing – that's not even a shot. Then I went back to Q school, got to Q school and went to Challenge Tour.
“On the Challenge Tour, the same. The great years started off great and then dropped a few places and I had to finish second in one of the last tournaments to get a ticket. That was until I finally won on tour a year and a half ago in Spain – I lost many times before I succeeded.
“I think it just makes me a better player because the more you fail, the more you learn about yourself. It was a long experience getting there, but when you get to the top, you feel more comfortable and ready.”
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Could the Ryder Cup be next for the 'special' Pavon?
There hasn't been a Frenchman on a Ryder Cup team since Victor Dubuisson in 2014, but Pavon showed why he could end that wait with an appearance in the Team Cup earlier in the year.
The three-day team match event has been reintroduced to the DP World Tour schedule to help prepare for September's Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, with Pavon joint-leading scorer for continental Europe in their heavy 17-8 defeat of Great Britain and Ireland .
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Sky Sports reporter Jamie Weir heads to New York to find out what awaits Team Europe at the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Pavon partnered Romain Langasque to win each of the first three sessions and managed to match Tommy Fleetwood's birdie burst in the singles before collapsing to a 3&1 defeat, his display praised by Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and his backroom team.
“He (Pavon) was something special,” said Paul McGinley, former Ryder Cup captain and strategic adviser to Donald for the 2025 Team Cup. “He's got a bit of grit about him.
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Paul McGinley has backed Pavon to be a contender for this year's Ryder Cup team after his performance at the Team Cup in Abu Dhabi
“As much as we look at this Ryder Cup in a different way than any away one before, what we're looking for is personality, guile and grit and someone who can play in a hostile environment.
“I think Pavon brought that to the table, so he was really impressive. He had a big year in America last year which sets him up for a big year this year because he's in all the main events and the signature events.”
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Highlights from the final day of the Team Cup, where Great Britain and Ireland wrapped up victory over continental Europe
The Ryder Cup is still nine months away, leaving plenty of time for players to push their name into automatic qualifying positions or consider themselves to be one of Donald's six captains.
Pavon has shown he can compete against the world's best over the past year and his Team Cup showed what he can offer in a team environment, although the big one in 2025 will still be needed if his Ryder Cup dream is to become a reality. A strong title defense at Torrey Pines would be a good start.
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