These Guys Are Good
U.S. Open 2024: Matthieu Pavon pulled off a Pinehurst No. 2 first on Thursday
Ross Kinnaird
Matthieu Pavon vaulted up the leaderboard on Thursday at the U.S. Open—emphasis on vaulted.
The 31-year-old Frenchman pulled off a Pinehurst No. 2 first by recording two 3s on the course's pair of par 5s. First, Pavon rolled this 18-foot putt in for eagle on No. 5 to grab an early share of the lead:
Then he added another big bird on No. 10 as he moved into solo first, getting up and down from 297 yards out:
Picking up four shots to par on two holes is useful in any tournament, but in a U.S. Open when many predicted the winning score won't even be four under? That's huge.
As stats guru Justin Ray noted, Pavon is the first player ever to make two eagles in the same U.S. Open round at Pinehurst, which previously hosted the event in 1999, 2005 and 2014. And he's only the seventh player to make two eagles in the same round at a U.S. Open since 2000.
Pavon won his first DP World Tour win last year to earn his PGA Tour card. And he quickly won his first PGA Tour title in his rookie season at Torrey Pines in January. Pavon has a lot of work to do if he's going to win a first major, but making eagle on every par 5 seems like a pretty solid strategy.