Matthieu Pavon (born 2 November 1992) is a French professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour. With his victory at the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open, Pavon became the first French golfer to win on the PGA Tour since Arnaud Massy at the British Open in 1907.
Professional career After turning professional Pavon played on the Alps Tour in 2014 and 2015. He won the Open International de Rebetz in 2014 and the Servizitalia Open in 2015. He reached the final stage of the 2015 European Tour Q School and gained a place on the Challenge Tour for 2016.
Pavon didn't win on the 2016 Challenge Tour but he finished in second place three times: at the Turkish Airlines Challenge, Montecchia Golf Open and Foshan Open. He was joint third in the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final and finished sixth on the Road To Oman Rankings to earn his 2017 European Tour card.
Pavon's first season on the European Tour was moderately successful and he finished 49th in the Order of Merit. His best result was to finish second in the 2018 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at Anahita after a final round 67. He finished third in the 2017 Scottish Open. The tournament was one of the Open Qualifying Series events and his high finish gave him an entry to the 2017 Open Championship the following week. He had rounds of 74 and 78 and missed the cut.
Pavon had less success on the 2018 European Tour, finishing the season 89th in the Order of Merit. He finished tied for 5th in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at the end of 2017 but his only other top-10 finish was in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. He qualified for his first U.S. Open. He started with a 71 and made the cut, despite a second round 77, finishing in a tie for 25th place.
In October 2023, Pavon won his first European Tour event at the Acciona Open de España. He recorded a total of 261 (23-under-par) to win wire-to-wire by four shots. He finished the 2023 European Tour season in 15th place on the Race to Dubai, earning him PGA Tour membership for the 2024 season.
In January 2024, he won the Farmers Insurance Open by one stroke over Nicolai Højgaard. With this win, he became the first Frenchman to win on the PGA Tour since Arnaud Massy won the 1907 Open Championship (later recognised as a PGA Tour victory). In February, he finished third at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California. He earned $1.36m in prize money and finished at −15, 2 strokes behind the winner Wyndham Clark. Personal life His father is French former professional footballer Michel Pavon.
Professional wins (6) PGA Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up127 Jan 2024Farmers Insurance Open−13 (69-65-72-69=275)1 stroke Nicolai Højgaard
European Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up115 Oct 2023Acciona Open de España−23 (63-68-66-64=261)4 strokes Zander Lombard
Alps Tour wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up13 May 2014Open International de Rebetz−7 (70-69-70=209)1 stroke Baptiste Chapellan, Thomas Elissalde217 Jul 2015Servizitalia Open−17 (66-68-65=199)Playoff Gerard Piris
French Tour wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up16 Apr 2018Open Mont de Marsan−9 (67-69-68=204)4 strokes Guillaume Cambis, Louis Cohen-Boyer210 Dec 2023Internationaux de France Professionnels de Double(with Julien Quesne)−18 (63-68-67=198)2 strokes Axel de Smet and Christopher Mivis
Results in major championships Tournament2017 2018Masters TournamentU.S. OpenT25The Open ChampionshipCUTPGA Championship Tournament2019202020212022202320242025Masters TournamentT12CUTPGA ChampionshipCUTT41U.S. OpenCUTCUT5T64The Open ChampionshipNTT50CUT
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied NT = no tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Results in The Players Championship Tournament20252026The Players ChampionshipT54CUT CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place
Team appearances Professional Team Cup (representing Continental Europe): 2025
See also 2016 Challenge Tour graduates 2023 Race to Dubai dual card winners References
External links