Matthieu Pavon is one among two males’s golfers representing France on the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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One of many huge storylines heading into the boys’s occasion on the 2024 Paris Olympics is the place a gold medal would rank by way of profession accomplishments. All of the Tour execs have been requested the query, and most have responded with some type of “I don’t know.” French professional Matthieu Pavon had a a lot completely different reply.
Whereas many gamers have confirmed to be downright giddy to be competing at Le Golf Nationwide, a stark distinction to the 2016 and 2020 Olympic golf occasions, additionally they have routinely admitted that as golfers they didn’t develop up with the objective of successful gold medals. As an alternative, it was main championship victories that crammed their childhood desires.
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Pavon’s Olympic teammate this week, Victor Perez, struck an identical tone of their joint Olympic press convention this week.
“It’s actually tough to say,” Perez started on the significance of the Olympics. “We don’t develop up just like the monitor and area and fencing and dreaming of a Gold Medal. It wasn’t actually on the radar once we had been youngsters when your first desires are made.”
Nonetheless, he additionally admitted that experiencing the Opening Ceremony in Paris earlier within the week, the place hundreds of fellow French followers cheered on the athletes, modified his perspective on the occasion.
“Clearly seeing how a lot individuals clearly care and the followers, I used to be simply shocked at how many individuals got here to the ceremony,” Perez mentioned. “It was raining like loopy and other people had been nonetheless cheering for us from balconies overlooking the Seine in Paris. Undoubtedly it meant lots and enhanced the texture and the wanting for the Gold Medal for certain.”
As for Pavon, he revealed that he had his eye on making the French Olympic crew all yr lengthy, a objective he nearly completed in February when he received his first PGA Tour occasion, the Farmers Insurance coverage Open at Torrey Pines.
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“It was one of many targets this yr however it actually began in January. It was one thing I wished to realize earlier than that,” Pavon defined. “Qualifying for the PGA Tour was my first objective. Then received the match in Torrey and unexpectedly you’re within the combine and put ahead and also you’re nearly assured to be within the crew. From that second that I actually realized and that type of dream grow to be actually a objective that I needed to put together for.”
And whereas Pavon admitted that main championships appeared extra essential to him heading into the week, the fanfare round his dwelling nation’s Olympic Video games reworked his view, and he now sees successful a gold medal this week as an even bigger accomplishment than successful a significant.
“The factor is, I at all times felt like main for golf is extra essential as a result of we now have probably not grown up with the Olympics,” Pavon mentioned in his press convention. “After a number of days within the Olympic Village, the Opening Ceremony in Paris with all this crowd in entrance of the Eiffel Tower and all the nice moments we spent the previous couple of days, it actually appears like a Gold Medal can be now ranked greater than a significant for me.”
Pavon and Perez will start their quests to say {golfing} gold for France on Thursday. Perez heads out within the opening grouping at 3 a.m. ET, with Pavon teeing off at 6:06 a.m. ET. Golf Channel will air stay protection of the opening spherical starting Thursday morning at 3 a.m. ET.
