LOS ANGELES — Talk about a dream start to the U.S. Open.
Playing in his third U.S. Open, Matthieu Pavon made the first hole in one of the 2023 championship during Thursday’s opening round. The 30-year-old from Medoc, France, put a one on the scorecard after he aced the 124-yard, par-3 15th hole.
“So that was just, that was just a perfect number. Because it was a full gap. I had nothing to change, just a normal one. Not a three-quarter, not a punch, whatever, it was just a perfect number,” said Pavon of his ace. “With my caddie we agreed that we need to pitch like one or two yards left. And the ball went straight where I wanted. So after like getting that hole-in-one it’s just like a bit of luck, but that shot like from the strike to the end was just a perfect shot.”
Pavon landed his tee shot a good 10 feet past the hole, then spun his back back towards the pin and into the bottom of the cup. It was a rather muted celebration with some high-fives from playing partners Ryo Ishikawa and Kevin Streelman, given the fact he just made a hole-in-one at a major championship. Why? He couldn’t see it go in.
“No, I reacted to the crowd. The thing is like the hole is just behind the slope so we can’t really see it,” he explained. “I just saw the bounce forward and kind of like seeing it was zipping left-to-right. So I knew it was close, but I just, I just heard the crowd getting more and more loud and then I just, I just knew it was in.”
💥 ACE ON 15 💥@matthieupavon #USOpen pic.twitter.com/A3LrX0OGrG
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 15, 2023
Pavon made his U.S. Open debut in 2018 with a T-25 finish at Shinnecock Hills. In his last appearance in 2019 at Pebble Beach he missed the cut. Pavon is now the first Frenchman to make a hole-in-one in the U.S. Open.
“I don’t know how many players have got a hole-in-one in a U.S. Open. It’s quite cool to be part of this group of people and it’s my first as a professional,” he added. “So sharing this with the crowd today was just a moment I would never forget.”
Pavon’s ace is the 49th in U.S. Open history and the first since Cameron Young made one last year in the second round at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
