Since tying for 12th at the Masters, has kept on slipping, slipping, and slipping. He tied for 49th at the and almost finished dead last at Quail Hollow. The Frenchman then went on to miss the cut at both the and .
His game has been lost—a stark departure from the beginning of the season, when he won the Farmers Insurance Open in dramatic fashion. But somehow, Pavon fired a 3-under 67 on Thursday to begin the at . He credits his success to his mindset and the course, which reminded him of some tracks that the DP World Tour plays in Europe.
“New week, new opportunity. You know you’re going to have hard times and better days, and when I came here, I felt like around the greens, it was really something that we’ve seen in Europe.” Pavon said.
“You can putt a lot. You don’t have to carry the ball. There is not any thick rough.
This is like a ‘linksy’ type of golf course. It looked a little bit familiar, which is probably why I enjoyed being out there today so much.” No doubt that Pavon enjoyed himself on the par-5 5th and par-5 10th holes.
He eagled both of them, flying him up the leaderboard and squarely into contention for the first time in months. “It’s funny because they pretty much come when you don’t really expect them,” Pavon said of his pair of eagles. “We know how tough the course can be, and even if you go in two for the par-5s, you really have to put the ball in the right spot, and that is all I tried, and I succeeded.
I dropped some very n.