Weekend Wrap: Pavon Headed To Augusta, Korda Holds Off Ko's HOF Bid
Europeans thrive on the PGA Tour while Lydia Ko loses out on Hall of Fame-clinching win. Plus, Anthony Kim mania, Pebble in the signature spotlight and PGA Tour-PIF deal may be close.
As we brace for weather, framework agreement glory and state media cheerleading surrounding the PGA Tour’s approach to the once-storied Pebble Beach stop, it was another better-than-most weekend in golf.
So good was the golf that it even managed to pour some cold water on the absurd firestorm over a possible Anthony Kim return. So let’s get to the good stuff that includes signs Europeans are pretty great at golf, the LPGA Tour is off to a strong start and yes, the framework agreement may have been replaced by an old fashioned agreement-agreement.
Pavon Wins Farmers To Earn First Masters Trip
The Strategic Alliance has never been stronger. For Europe, anyway.
Whether fueled by some sort of collective winning Ryder Cup confidence bounce or just maybe—maybe—the Official World Golf Ranking undervaluing the DP World Tour all these years—the weekend proved special for the fans of European golf.
France’s Matthieu Pavon captured the Farmers Insurance Open Saturday with a dramatic final hole birdie to hold off Nicolai Højgaard. In just his third PGA Tour start, the Frenchman found himself in sunny La Jolla after earning his way onto the tour via a new strategic partnership offering ten PGA Tour cards to top DP World Tour players.
“I can’t thank the PGA Tour enough to give us the opportunity to come from Europe and compete here in America against the best players in the world,” Pavon said after the win. “That’s always been the dream for me. I got finally a shot and I took it.”
This was Pavon’s second win in the last three months after capturing the DP World Tour’s Spanish Open for his first career win after 185 starts.
If you were were thinking this was a fluke, do note that in chasing the Tour dream last fall, Pavon birdied his final four holes to bump Rasmus Højgaard from earning a chance of joining his brother Nicolai in America. So Pavon has a clutch streak to keep an eye on.
(Both Højgaard’s were runners-up Sunday: Nicolai finishing a stroke back of Pavon while Rasmus collected second place money on the DP World Tour.)
After Pavon’s 18th hole tee shot finished disastrously close to a bunker lip, he advanced the ball into Torrey Pines’ worst rough knowing he needed birdie to hold ensure victory. The 32-year-old charged ahead as his playing partners waited for the green to clear. A huge hack out of the silly stuff left him 24 feet with a must-make to hold off Højgaard, the first time Ryder Cup team member who was likely to make birdie on the reachable par 5. Pavon did it and locked in a victory worth $1.62 million along with one of golf’s best trophies and a special dinner at Nobu.
Just as impressive: four Europeans finished in the Farmers top 10 and three were in the top three. Though the field lacked several American stars, the Euro success should be noted the next time world ranking points distribution is debated. (Insiders will recall the PGA Tour has campaigned hard for years to receive more points, citing superior fields to Europe and Asia. That case just got harder after all the LIV departures and back-to-back wins by an amateur and a European journeyman.)
The Farmers triumph sends the world number 78 to his first Masters and PGA Championship. Pavon also makes history as the first French golfer to win a PGA Tour event. There was some confusion on this one since Martin Trainer won the 2019 Puerto Rico Open while representing the United States but has since changed his nationality to France. I have no idea why, but I don’t entire blame him given my affinity for sitting at a Paris cafe having a croissant and not giving a hoot.
Technically, Arnaud Massy was first as a PGA Tour winner thanks to his 1907 Open Championship triumph when indoor plumbing was still a huge perk. But there was also no Global Home, FedExCup or Comcast Business Solutions Top 10 back then.
Game, set and match for Pavon.
Paul Hodowanic has more at PGATour.com on Pavon’s wild career path to making history. And here are the highlights:
Korda Holds Off Ko In “Drive On” Thriller
The LPGA Tour’s Drive On Championship went up against the Chiefs-Ravens AFC Championship game and featured one of the more incredible golf finishes in a long time.
Playing in her hometown event and paired Sunday with her house guest (Megan Khang) this week, Nelly Korda appeared in control heading thanks to a four-stroke lead. But a balky putter opened the door for Lydia Ko to charge home with a tap-in eagle at the 17th and a shocking three-stroke lead. But Korda matched with an eagle at 17 to get within one.
Those were the only threes recorded at 17 all day.
Korda then arrived at the 18th needing birdie and nearly holed out, leaving another incredible tap-in to send the Drive On to a sudden-death playoff. The play there was less thrilling, with Korda winning on the second hole after making a five-footer for par and her ninth LPGA Tour title since 2022.
“Every win has a story,” said Korda. “This one was definitely -- just with the struggles of last year and just with today as well, I thought I completely lost it. Being in my hometown and having the hometown support was incredible.”
Ko was trying to become the first player to win the opening two LPGA Tour events since Ai Miyazato in 2010 while clinching the last point necessary to become the youngest LPGA Tour Hall of Famer.
Korda seemed on the cusp of a massive career arc after her Olympic glory, but turned in a less-than-thrilling 2023 by her high standards. As she starts her eighth season on the LPGA Tour, it’s worth highlighting that Korda has made 112 cuts in 128 starts and has earned nine wins with 47 additional top-10 finishes over her young career. Like Ko, she’s a generational talent. Having two of the LPGA’s biggest starts off to strong starts certainly has the tour off to a very nice 2024 beginning.
Olesen Wins DP World Tour’s Ras Al Khaimah
On paper, Thorbjørn Olesen dominated the Ras Al Khaimah Championship with a six-stroke win over Rasmus Højgaard. The victory is Olesen’s eighth DP World Tour title and came after the Dane lost a four-stroke overnight lead, only to eventually run away with the title.
A resident of the UAE, Olesen played what is essentially his adopted home event before coming to the U.S. after he earned a PGA Tour card in the same fashion as Pavon last fall.
The win will not earn Olesen a Masters invite, but he is projected by Nosferatu to move to 57th in the world and closer to an OWGR-fueled invite later this spring.
Kim Plotting Return To Golf, Millennials Lose Control
Golf’s Dylan Dethier reported last week on Anthony Kim plotting a way back to professional golf. After a dozen years away following injuries and a (reportedly) robust insurance policy that inspired the mercurial former Ryder Cup hero to keep the party going, Dethier says Kim is “in discussions” with the PGA Tour, LIV and sponsors.