Matthieu Pavon stuns everyone with a sensational hole-in-one at 2023 U.S. Open
Frenchman Matthieu Pavon grabbed the headlines in the first round of the U.S. Open. He scored an ace on the 15th hole of the Los Angeles Country Club's North Course. In that way he achieved an eagle that is being important for his aspirations of passing the cut.
The move came when Matthieu Pavon was +2 after three bogeys and only one birdie. On the difficult 15th hole, (only 124 yards and par 3), the Frenchman opted to look for a long swing with an iron. His shot had a good height and spin.
ACE ALERT 🚨 ACE ALERT 🚨
@MatthieuPavon cards a 1 on No. 15 @USOpenGolf! https://t.co/rBQnqynVC1
Matthieu Pavon directed the shot with such accuracy that it hit directly on the green, just a few feet from the hole. Given the spin the ball was carrying, he advanced a few more inches and dropped back, straight in.
It is the first hole-in-one of the 2023 U.S. Open. The French player looked very happy, celebrating it as a real triumph with his caddie.
On the next three holes, Matthieu Pavon made par-bogey-par and finished the round with +1. With the first round still to be completed, he was in T48.
Who is Matthieu Pavon?
Matthieu Pavon, 30, is a native of Toulouse, France. He has been a professional since 2013 and has spent most of his career on the DP World Tour.
His first professional tournaments were played on the Tour des Alpes. He won twice: the Open International de Rebetz in 2014 and the Servizitalia Open in 2015.
In 2016, he played on the Challenge Tour, where he did not win, but had good results. He finised as the runner-up in three tournaments, which earned him his European Tour card for 2017.
His first season at the next level was reasonably good, with two third places and a sixth place finish as his best results.
Since then, Matthieu Pavon has not won a tournament on the DP World Tour. His best result at this level has been finishing T2, which he has achieved three times (2018 Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open at Anahita, 2021 Portugal Masters and 2022 Open de España).
Apart from these results, Pavon has achieved some other good finishes. In general, he has placed more towards the bottom of the table in most of the tournaments he has participated in.
As for the PGA Tour, Pavon has taken part in five tournaments at this level. He has made the cut in two of them: the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open and the 2017 U.S. Open.
The 2023 is his third participation in the U.S. Open. After the 2017 edition, he was also present in the 2018 edition, where he made the cut.