Frenchman Pavon, champion of the Spanish Open with his Madrid grandfather in memory: "He went into exile for Franco"
Frenchman Matthieu Pavon breaks local hegemony at the Acciona Open in Spain. Since 2016, all the winners had been Spanish. The Frenchman took advantage of the momentum of the previous days at the Madrid Country Club to debut his record with a spectacular result of -7 on the last day, leaving the final result at 23 under par, two away from the tournament record established by Jon Rahm in 2022. It is the first big victory for the player, who is the son of a footballer who played for Betis 23 years ago.
Pavon, a 30-year-old golfer from Toulouse, has a lot of ties to Spain. His grandfather was from Madrid and emigrated to France due to the outbreak of the Civil War.. In the neighboring country he settled and started a family. When he received the title of winner, he remembered his ancestor: «A part of my heart is here, in Spain. My grandfather was originally from Madrid, he went into exile in France because of Franco. I thought a lot about him during today's round, and it was difficult for me to hold back the tears, which I can now shed. “I dedicate this victory to my grandfather, who will be up there and I think he will be proud of me.”
Matthieu moved to Seville when he was eight years old, following in the footsteps of his father Michel, who spent one season in the ranks of Betis, in the 2000-2001 season.. His father was a professional footballer with a long career.. He played nearly 400 games in the French league and played, among others, for Toulouse, Montpellier and Girondins.. After defending the colors of Betis, he retired from top competition due to injuries.
Mateo, as he is known in the golf world, speaks Spanish fluently and has been a professional for 10 years.. In 2017 he managed to enter the European Tour and the victory in Madrid, after 186 tournaments played, brings him closer to the fight for the first 10 places at the end of the season, which would provide him with promotion to the PGA Tour. He currently lives in Andorra and trains in Cerdanya, in Lérida. The new winner on the European Tour commented that his father's experience and advice were fundamental for the development of his golf career.
Pavon shone in Madrid and fought for prominence with Rahm. The Basque signed the most exciting moments of the week. On Sunday without complexes and, in attack mode, he started the day with four birdies and got to -6 on the ninth hole. The Villa de Madrid Country Club roared like never before with Rahm just three shots behind a leader who had not yet started the last day and who was already feeling the tickling and pressure of having the breath of the world number 3 on his back. Nine strokes behind and more than thirty players ahead was the impossible feat for Jon's comeback, who could not continue maintaining the frenetic pace of the first two hours of play and had to settle for 64 strokes and finish the week with -14, tied for ninth place with other players, including Alfredo García Heredia. Basque and Asturian were the best Spaniards in the classification.
«It has been a very good day, in which I have had a start that has given me a lot of energy. Let's see if next year I have better options and can be in a position to reach the fourth title,” concluded Jon Rahm.