U.S. Open: Matthieu Pavon ‘flying like an eagle’ after brutal stretch

Since tying for twelfth on the Masters, Matthieu Pavon has stored on slipping, slipping, and slipping.

He tied for forty ninth on the RBC Heritage and virtually completed useless final at Quail Hole. The Frenchman then went on to overlook the minimize at each the PGA Championship and the Memorial.

His sport has been misplaced—a stark departure from the start of the season, when he gained the Farmers Insurance coverage Open in dramatic vogue. However one way or the other, Pavon fired a 3-under 67 on Thursday to start the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

He credit his success to his mindset and the course, which reminded him of some tracks that the DP World Tour performs in Europe.

“New week, new alternative. You already know you’re going to have exhausting occasions and higher days, and once I got here right here, I felt like across the greens, it was actually one thing that we’ve seen in Europe.” Pavon mentioned.

Picture by Alex Slitz/Getty Photos

“You may putt rather a lot. You don’t have to hold the ball. There is no thick tough. This is sort of a ‘linksy’ sort of golf course. It appeared a bit bit acquainted, which might be why I loved being on the market at present a lot.”

Little question that Pavon loved himself on the par-5 fifth and par-5 tenth holes. He eagled each of them, flying him up the leaderboard and squarely into competition for the primary time in months.

“It’s humorous as a result of they stunning a lot come whenever you don’t actually count on them,” Pavon mentioned of his pair of eagles.

“We all know how powerful the course may be, and even should you go in two for the par-5s, you actually must put the ball in the appropriate spot, and that’s all I attempted, and I succeeded. I dropped some very good putts at present, too, so it was actually day.”

On the fifth gap, Pavon launched his 4-iron from 241 yards out to 17 ft away. He made the putt, which received him to 2-under. A birdie on the par-4 eighth adopted, and by the point Pavon made the flip, he sat at 3-under.

Then, on the tenth gap, Pavon rifled a 3-wood from 288 out onto the entrance of the inexperienced. His ball got here to relaxation 27 ft from the cup, and he drained that putt, too. Out of the blue, he sat at 5-under and within the lead.

However that was short-lived. Pavon bogeyed the eleventh and sixteenth holes, as he slid again to 3-under. He sits two strokes behind Patrick Cantlay halfway by means of Thursday’s first spherical.

Nonetheless, Pavon leads the sector in placing up to now, gaining 4.31 strokes on the greens. If he can hold that up, who is aware of? Maybe he can develop into the primary Frenchman to win a significant. He has confirmed himself below strain earlier than, however now it’s a matter of getting the job achieved on a difficult golf course with the most effective gamers on the planet. No less than he feels assured that he can achieve this.

“My sport this yr is kind of good total. I had a number of weeks down, however it occurs in a yr,” Pavon mentioned.

“When it’s powerful like this week, not less than you already know that generally you must take away some strain and expectations, play good to the appropriate spots, and make one or two up-and-downs when you might want to. That is what actually modified in comparison with a number of the final weeks.”

Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By. Be sure you take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You may observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.