Matthieu Pavon is one of two men's golfers representing France at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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One of the big stories heading into the men's event at the 2024 Paris Olympics is where the gold medal will be ranked by career achievement. All Tour pros were asked this question, and most answered with some sort of “I don't know.” French Professor Matthieu Pavon had a very different answer.
Although many players appeared shy about competing at Le Golf National, which is very different from the 2016 and 2020 Olympic golf events, they also admitted that as golfers they did not grow up with the goal of winning gold medals. . Instead, it was a big tournament victory that fulfilled their childhood dreams.
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Pavon's Olympic teammate this week, Victor Perez, did the same at their Olympic press conference this week.
“It's really hard to say,” Perez began about the importance of the Olympics. “We don't grow up like track and field and fencing and dreaming of a gold medal. It wasn't really on the radar when we were kids when your first dreams were made.”
However, he also admitted that experiencing the Opening Ceremony in Paris earlier in the week, where thousands of French fans cheered on the athletes, changed his view of the event.
“Obviously I can see how much people care about the fans, I was just surprised how many people came to the event,” said Perez. “It was raining like crazy and people were still cheering us on from the balconies overlooking the Seine in Paris. It definitely meant a lot and enhanced the feeling and the pursuit of the Gold Medal for sure.”
As for Pavon, he revealed that he had been looking to make the French Olympic team all year, a goal he nearly achieved in February when he won his first PGA Tour event, the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
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“It was one of the goals this year but it really started in January. It was something I wanted to achieve before that,” explained Pavon. “Qualifying for the PGA Tour was my first goal. Then you win the tournament in Torrey and suddenly you're in the middle and you're leading and you're almost guaranteed to be in the team. From that moment I saw it right away and that kind of dream became a goal I had to prepare for.”
And while Pavon admits the big championships seem important to him heading into this week, his country's Olympic fans have changed his mind, and he now sees winning a gold medal this week as a bigger achievement than a big win.
“The thing is, I've always felt that the importance of golf is very important because we didn't really grow up with the Olympics,” said Pavon in a press conference. “After a few days in the Olympic Village, the Opening Ceremony in Paris with all this crowd in front of the Eiffel Tower and all the good times we had in the last few days, it feels like the gold medal is now going to be placed on a higher level. big for me.”
Pavon and Perez will begin their quest for golf gold against France on Thursday. Perez will tee off at 3 a.m. ET, and Pavon will tee off at 6:06 a.m. ET. The Golf Channel will air the opening round live beginning Thursday morning at 3 a.m. ET.
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