SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Matthew Pavon won at Torrey Pines Golf Club earlier this year. He was playing in his first Masters. He was competing on the final day of the U.S. Open.
None of it could compare to the opening day of the Olympic golf tournament in his home country.
Pavon was overcome with emotion as he teeed off on the first hole at the National Golf Club, which he said affected his play. His compatriot Victor Perez had the honor of hitting the first shot at the start of the tournament earlier in the day.
“It was a crazy moment, and I was not prepared,” said Pavin, 31, who shot 71. “It was just that moment, it was so exciting, so many people shouting your name.
“So it was special and yeah, I had to overcome some emotions and just overall it was a tough day because just like the emotions out there, every shot, every tee shot, every putt, everybody's pushing you and trying to do better. So it's hard to manage it all. It takes a lot of energy and I'm happy with how I played so far today.”
Last fall, Pavin won his first DP World Tour title and then earned his PGA Tour card via a top-10 exemption. In his third tournament, he won the Farmers Insurance Open and then finished third at Pebble Beach.
He was in the final group with Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open and finished fifth.
“Sometimes it was too much for me, and I don’t know if it was just too much for me, but like I said, I wasn’t prepared,” Pavon said. “You don’t really have a place where you can just cool down and breathe and get some water. You’re always back to that tee box and everybody’s yelling your name and stuff like that, so you never get a break. It was a very tiring day for me.”
The experience was equally nerve-wracking for the 31-year-old Perez, who played college golf at the University of New Mexico and has won three DP World Tour titles. He hit his first shot of the tournament at 9 a.m. local time.
“Obviously there’s a lot to take in,” said Perez, who shot 70. “It’s never an easy position for golfers. I don’t think anybody likes the first tee.
“I told myself on the range, I told my caddie James, let's get there 10 minutes early and really soak it in. This is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm never going to hit a tee shot like this again, teeing it up in Paris, being French, with all the home support. I want to be there. Whether I'm there for 10 minutes or four minutes, there's no more pressure.
“So I thought, you might as well just try to go out there and take it all in and enjoy the people. It was pretty cool. I actually hit a good shot.”
Perez said the experience was, in some ways, more meaningful than his first DP World Tour title at the 2019 Dunhill Links Championship.
“It’s a bit special because we play in France and this used to be our golf green when we were kids,” he said of standing on the grounds of the French National Golf Club. “We played here against the French juniors, under-12, under-14, under-16, and I remember staying at the Novotel (in the hotel) and coming out at 9 o’clock to play golf with the older guys, trying to win the tournament, playing for coke and stuff like that.
“This place is very special to me and I think when you talk to Matthew later he will agree with me. Obviously I have mixed feelings and emotions and I'm happy to have a good score on the back nine so I don't embarrass myself.”