Frenchman Matthieu Pavon made history on Saturday at the Farmers Insurance Open with his country’s first-ever win on the PGA Tour.
Four golfers chased Pavon, a rookie on the tour, in the final round at Torrey Pines Golf Course — Stephan Jaeger, who led after the second and third rounds, Nicolai Højgaard, Nate Lashley and Jake Knapp.
Pavon, 31, did not have an auspicious start, with a bogey on the first hole, but he would find his flow with birdies on four holes, including consecutively on the eighth and ninth.
Yet a bogey on the 17th left the door open. The European Tour veteran, though, responded with a birdie — he raised his arms and yelled “Yes!” — to end his day as the champion.
There’s “no better moment than winning here in America,” Pavon, the son of a golf pro and a soccer star, told CBS. “I’ve dreamed about it since I was a kid.”
Højgaard, with a birdie on the final hole, broke a logjam at second to finish at 12-under, one stroke behind Pavon. Jaeger also needed a birdie on the 18th hole to claim a tie for third – he had bogeyed three of the prior six holes.
He was joined by Knapp and Lashley — who had a big day, shooting a 5-under 67 to jump up the leaderboard — at two strokes back.
Højgaard, just 22, felt like his play had “been pretty good most of the way,” but found that the going got tougher Saturday. “It’s a little bit more tricky making those birdies,” he said to CBS.
Jaeger, 34, “didn’t hit that many good shots on the back nine, honestly,” he told CBS, but added that he was heartened by his finish, calling it “definitely a step in the right direction.”
Kevin Yu and Hideki Matsuyama matched Lashley’s effort in the final round. The hot day helped Yu, who led the tournament after the first round, rise to finish in a three-way tie with Beau Hossler and Tony Finau, at three strokes back.
Thomas Detry, who had a taste of the lead Friday, fell out of contention after a 2-over 74 in his final round.
The top-ranked golfer in the field, San Diego State alum Xander Schauffele, finished four strokes off the pace. Among other locals, Michael Kim, a Torrey Pines High alum, was nine strokes back, while Charley Hoffman, a Poway High alum, sat far back, behind by 12 strokes.
Of the other two Top-10 ranked golfers in the world playing at Torrey Pines, Max Homa, the 2023 Farmers Open champion, ended the day at five strokes back, while Patrick Cantlay matched Hoffman.
Pavon takes home $1.62 million, part of the event’s $9-million purse. Højgaard receives $981,000 and the trio who tied for third, $477,000 each.
