On Saturday, Matthieu Pavon won the Farmers Insurance Open after making a thrilling 8-foot putt for a one-shot victory on hole 18 at Torrey Pines South.
At the municipal course perched high above the Pacific Ocean, as dusk was setting, Pavon finally made the putt roll in, raising his arms in triumph and shouting before embracing his caddy. On the back nine, his lone birdie kept him out of the playoffs.
He finished the round at 13 under, one stroke ahead of Nicolai Højgaard, with a 3-under 69. Pavon was two strokes clear of Nicolai Højgaard, Nate Lashley, Stephan Jaeger, who was the leader after the second and third rounds.
“I’m at a loss for words. It’s amazing” the 31-year-old rookie on the PGA TOUR commented after the victory.
On the par-4 17th hole, Pavon grabbed the lead and extended it to two strokes. However, he bogeyed the putt from three feet away, reducing his lead to just one shot.
On the par-5, 541-yard 18th hole, he looked to be in trouble when his drive ended up about 4 inches from the front lip in a sand trap. His second shot travelled 145 yards to the hole and went 103 yards into the left rough, which was high due to Monday’s intense rain. He answered with an excellent third shot that was within eight feet.
Toulouse, France-born Pavon was participating in just his eleventh PGA TOUR tournament. He has won one on the DP World Tour, and the Race to Dubai PGA TOUR Eligibility Rankings allowed him to get his PGA TOUR card.
With a birdie on the par-5 ninth, Pavon and Jaeger were tied for the lead. Until the par-4 12th hole, where Pavon made a short par putt to grab the lead and Jaeger missed his for bogey, they were tied.
On 14, Pavon nearly made a 34-foot putt that would have given him a three-stroke lead. On 16, he stayed two shots ahead with a 24-foot par putt and threw his fist in jubilation.
