LOS ANGELES: Matthieu Pavon rattled in a birdie putt at the 72nd hole to win the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines on Saturday, becoming the first French golfer to win on the modern US PGA Tour.
Up by two strokes with two holes to play, Pavon missed a three-foot par putt at the 17th to see his advantage cut to one.
He was in a fairway bunker off the tee at the par-five 18th, where his second shot left him in the dense left rough.
But he muscled a mighty shot to the green and avoided a playoff with a clutch putt, carding a three-under par 69 for a 13-under par total of 275.
Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard carded a one-under par 70 to finish second on 276.
The victory on the demanding South Course at Torrey Pines – a two-time US Open venue – comes after the 31-year-old Pavon captured his first DP World Tour title – in his 185th start – at the Spanish Open in October.
He earned his US PGA Tour card with a top-10 finish in the DP World Tour standings.
“I have no words. It’s amazing,” Pavon said, his voice shaking in a post-round television interview. “It has been a long journey. I waited seven years on the main tour to win back in Europe and finally got a win in America. It’s just tremendous.”
Pavon shook off an opening bogey with four front-nine birdies, his two-foot birdie at the ninth pulling him into a tie for the lead with Germany’s Stephan Jaeger.
Jaeger, also chasing a first PGA Tour win, came into the final round with a one-stroke lead and pushed it to three with birdies at the second and third holes.
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But three back-nine bogeys proved too much to overcome as Pavon played the final nine in even par.
The Frenchman looked to be in trouble at the 14th, where his second shot went through the green down the steep bank behind the putting surface.
Luckily, it stopped before rolling out of bounds and his shot up to the putting surface rolled within a foot of the cup.
He was in a greenside bunker off the tee at the par-three 16th but drilled a 23-foot putt to save par and keep his lead at two strokes.
Hojgaard finished with five birdies and three bogeys in his two-under par 70, keeping the pressure on Pavon by reaching the 18th green in two and giving himself a two-foot birdie putt.
“We were all grinding our heart out,” Hojgaard said. “(Pavon) made good up-and-downs on the back nine and gave me a chance on 17, but then he pulled some magic on 18, which you’ve got to do if you want to win.
“I gave it my best to put a bit of pressure on him today, but he got one on me. Happy for him.”
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