All smiles,
Matthieu Pavon
willingly took part in the question-and-answer game with the journalists during the press conference organized after his victory at Farmers Insurance.
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How do you feel after your win at Farmers Insurance, being new to the PGA Tour?
Matthieu PAVON.
- I can not believe it.
Like I said, I feel like there's still one more round to play since it's only Saturday!
(laughs) I never thought I would one day have the opportunity to play in the United States on the PGA Tour with the best players in the world.
This still has a dream for me.
And then there was a move to play and I grabbed it.
The dream has come true.
This is really hard for me to believe.
What comes to mind right off the bat?
It's incredible for me to win a tournament on the PGA Tour.
It's a childhood dream.
I'm going a long way.
I never thought I would win a tournament one day in the United States.
It's a lot of work.
Golf puts us in our place.
It was a lot of failures.
I am lucky to be very well surrounded in life with my wife, my son, my friends, my staff... All the energy I can have on the last day during a golf tournament, I come draw it from them.
"I cooled my head and said to myself, 'Come on, it's show time now.'
Breathe well and do the best you can.
»
What made the difference on the return?
It's a question of motivation.
It was important for me to have clear ideas.
I had taken notes in my logbook which I stuck to to stay in the present moment.
During a trip, sometimes your mind wanders a little and it's difficult to refocus.
I think that's key in sport: the more confident you are, the easier it can become.
People don't realize, but I reread these little sentences a hundred times during the last six holes (laughs).
I stayed focused on that, cooled my mind and said to myself,
“Come on, it’s showtime now.
Breathe well and do the best you can.”
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How do you feel about joining the PGA Tour from the DP World Tour?
That wasn't my goal last season.
I had no victories in Europe, I had spent seven years playing trying to achieve my first success.
It came little by little, with this victory in Spain which came at the right time.
I understood that I was capable of doing good things.
My self-confidence increased.
And we decided to implement new things that were going in the right direction with my staff.
During the final of the DP World Tour in Dubai, I was on cloud nine, in orbit (to snatch the last qualifying place for the PGA Tour, Mathieu Pavon made 5 birdies including 4 consecutive during the last round, editor's note).
It was incredible.
When I arrived in the USA, I just tried to enjoy every moment.
“I love the United States: the mentality, the sport, the lives of the people... I feel half-American, in a way.
»
What is your life like in the United States?
The first time I came here, I was seventeen.
It was to train in West Palm Beach with Ken Martin... My best ranking at the time must have been 8,000th in the world (laughs).
I was never a very good player when I was younger.
Since then, it has been a dream for me to come back and play there.
I love the United States: the mentality, the sport, the people's lives... I feel half-American, in a way.
I don't feel any pressure playing here.
It's just an opportunity.
If I mess up, I'll go back to Europe and that's it.
I try to do less better, I enjoy all these special moments - and they are, I tell you!
- and it seems to work.
Are you thinking about the Paris Olympic Games?
I have a very good friend, Julien Quesne.
He is my mentor, to tell the truth and he remains so.
He participated in the Rio Olympics in 2016 and he talked to me about it and told me how cool it was.
This was one of my goals this year: to qualify to represent my country in Paris in 2024. It seems well underway now...
How important is it to win to come from a family like yours to win?
I come from a family with a very sporting background.
My mother is a golf teacher, my father was a professional footballer.
He won the French championship when I was young.
We had a VHS tape with the best moments from that season and we probably watched it a hundred times with my brothers.
I grew up with it in my family.
What I can say is that it gave me values such as a taste for effort and humility.
“Do the best you can and play your best shot every time you hit the ball.”
(Comments collected at a press conference)