Matthieu Pavon chasing Ryder Cup dream ahead of PGA Tour title defence at Farmers Insurance Open

Matthieu Pavon chasing Ryder Cup dream ahead of PGA Tour title defence at Farmers Insurance Open

Matthieu Pavon heads into his Farmers Insurance Open title defence with aspirations of fulfilling a childhood ambition and making a Ryder Cup debut in 2025, something that seemed nothing but a dream less than 18 months ago.

As Team Europe regained the Ryder Cup with an impressive 16.5-11.5 victory over Zach Johnson's United States in Rome in September 2023, Pavon was outside the world's top 200 and winless in his eighth season on the DP World Tour.

Less than four months later, Pavon had reached the winner's circle on the DP World Tour, earned dual membership for the following season and become the first Frenchman in 117 years to win on the PGA Tour.

Pavon is back at Torrey Pines as defending champion this week, live on Sky Sports from Wednesday, with the Frenchman keen to build on his memorable rookie season and force his way into Europe's Ryder Cup plans.

"I think the second year is always kind of the confirmation year," Pavon said ahead of his title defence at Torrey Pines. "That was a great rookie one [in 2024], but now it's time to confirm, it's time to show up again and try to win tournaments.

"It's a pretty big year for me because it's also a Ryder Cup year. This is one of my goals I've been chasing since I was a kid. A lot going on this year and I can't wait to start."

Pavon had a long wait to build his reputation in the sport, going eight years between his two early successes on the Alps Tour - a third-tier circuit - and his DP World Tour breakthrough.

He changed his driver and putter during the last Ryder Cup week, where he earned €6,000 finishing runner-up at a mini tour event in France, with the switch quickly followed by a long-overdue success a fortnight later at the Acciona Open de España.

An emotional four-shot victory came in his 185th DP World Tour appearance and in the city of his late grandfather's birth, with his career transformed further the month after by his finish to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Pavon birdied each of his last four holes to snatch a top-five finish, a fifth worldwide top-10 in a memorable 2024, earning him his PGA Tour card and dual membership for the following season from his position in the Race to Dubai rankings.

He made an immediate statement in America, winning the Farmers Insurance Open - in just his third PGA Tour start of the season - to become the first French winner on the PGA Tour since Arnaud Massy in 1907 and secure his invite to all four majors.

Pavon impressed on his Masters debut, contended at the US Open, represented France at the Olympics and reached the season-ending Tour Championship during a whirlwind campaign, with his previous struggles fuelling him to succeed on the world stage.

"I think it's really failure [that helped]," Pavon explained. "We keep saying this, but you can achieve great things before you fail many times and I have had so many different failures in my career.

"When I was on the mini tour back in Europe, I failed to graduate to the Challenge Tour by four dollars over a year, which is nothing - it's not even a shot. Then I went back to Q school, got to Q school and went on Challenge Tour.

"On the Challenge Tour, the same. Great years started great and then dropped a few spots and I had to finish second on one of the last tournaments to get my card. It was like this until I finally won on tour a year and a half ago in Spain - I lost many times before I succeeded.

"I think it just makes me a better player, because the more you fail, the more you learn about yourself. That was a long experience to get there, but when you get to the top, you feel more comfortable and more prepared."

There has not been a Frenchman on the Ryder Cup team since Victor Dubuisson in 2014, but Pavon showed why he could end that wait with his performance in the Team Cup at the start of the year.

The three-day match play team event was reintroduced to the DP World Tour schedule to help with preparations for this September's Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, with Pavon the joint-leading points scorer for Continental Europe in their heavy 17-8 loss to Great Britain and Ireland.

Pavon partnered Romain Langasque to victory in each of the first three sessions and managed to match Tommy Fleetwood's birdie burst in the singles before falling to a 3&1 defeat, with his display praised by Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and his backroom team.

"He [Pavon] has been something special," said Paul McGinley, former Ryder Cup captain and strategic adviser to Donald for the 2025 Team Cup. "He's got a bit of grit about him.

"As much as we are looking at this Ryder Cup in a different way to any away one before, what we are looking for is personality, guile and grit and someone that can play in a hostile environment.

"I think Pavon brings that to the table, so he's been really impressive. He had a big year in America last year which sets him up for a big year this year because he's in all of the majors and signature events."

The Ryder Cup is still nine months away, leaving plenty of time for players to push their name into the automatic qualification spots or leave themselves a consideration to be one of Donald's six captain's picks.

Pavon has showed he can compete against the world's best over the past year and his Team Cup display proved what he can offer in a team environment, although a big 2025 will still be needed if his Ryder Cup dream is to become a reality. A strong title defence at Torrey Pines would be good start.

Who will win the Farmers Insurance Open? Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Early coverage begins on Wednesday from 4.45pm on Sky Sports Golf ahead of full coverage from 8pm. Get Sky Sports or stream the PGA Tour, majors and more with no contract on NOW.