The French are famous for many things, with art, food and going on strike being three that spring to mind! Golf is certainly not something that is readily associated with the country though, although they have had some decent players over the years and Le Golf National on the outskirts of Paris hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup.
However, on the 28th of January 2024, Matthieu Pavon made history by becoming the first French golfer to win a PGA Tour event in well over 100 years. Pavon, an experienced golfer at the age of 31 but a rookie on the PGA Tour, won the Farmers Insurance Open. It was just his 11th tournament on the US tour and the previous French winner of such an event was Arnaud Massy, all the way back in 1907.
However, whilst France may not have produced top golfers in the same numbers as the US, the UK, Australia, or even Spain, it has had some very strong players over the years. Here, in no particular order (well, no strict order but we’ll start with our number one!), are the best French golfers ever.
Massy’s Major Accomplishment
Only one French (male) golfer has ever won a major and given the importance the game puts on the four biggest tournaments, we feel we have to name the aforementioned Arnaud Massy as the best player from the land of fine wine, strong cheese and David Guetta. Massy was born way back in 1877, in Biarritz, and won a number of tournaments during his impressively lengthy career.
Undoubtedly his greatest triumph, at least in objective terms, came at the 1907 Open Championship. He competed in the Open for the first time in 1902 and performed well to finish tied for 10th. In 1905 and 1906 he again challenged, finishing tied fifth and then sixth but the following year he made history.
He won that year’s British Open at Royal Liverpool (the Open being co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour, hence the reports of Pavon being the first winner since 1907) by two shots to become the first non-Brit to win the event. As we know, he was also the first, and – 100+ years on – still the only, French player to win a major too. He had six further top-10s at the famous tournament but the closest he came to landing a second major was in 1911 when he was second.
In those days travel meant very few players made it from Europe to majors in the US and so the Open was the only major that Massy ever played in. His last appearance at the tournament came in 1930, 28 years after his debut.
In addition to his win at Royal Liverpool he is known for winning the first edition of his home Open, the 1906 French Open. As a proud Frenchman, he may well have felt this to be his finest hour and, what’s more, he defended his title 12 months on, beating a strong field that included seven-time major champion Harry Vardon. In all he won the French Open four times, also claiming glory at the Belgium Open and winning the Spanish Open three times, including in 1928 when he was in his 50s!
Victor Dubuisson: It was Great While it Lasted
In December 2023 the charismatic Victor Dubuisson announced his retirement from golf at the tender age of just 33. The man from Cannes got in ahead of Jurgen Klopp in the shock-retirement stakes (though Klopp may return to football) and the reasons are similar, a simple wish to enjoy life.
Dubuisson peaked at number 15 in the world rankings and from around 2013 to 2015 was a top player. He had two top-10s at majors in 2014 and was a runner-up in a WGC event (the 2014 Match Play tournament). He leaves the game of golf having won two DP World Tour (then European Tour) events, both wins coming at the Turkish Airlines Open (in 2013 and 2015).
Dubuisson was a top amateur player and at the end of 2009 was ranked the best such golfer in the world for around two months. He appeared in several pro tournaments as an amateur too, even playing in the Open Championship in 2010 just before he made the decision to turn pro. He didn’t enjoy much success in his one season on the PGA Tour but will be remembered by many for his one and only appearance in the Ryder Cup. In 2014 he was part of the European team that won easily at Gleneagles and he played his part, taking 2.5 points out of 3 and boasting an unbeaten record.
Thomas Levet: Most European Wins by a French Golfer
Levet was born in 1968 and turned pro 20 years later. He still competes on the main Tour but boasts three wins on the senior circuit too. With six DP/European Tour victories to his name, he is the most successful French golfer ever in terms of top-level event wins and we can’t wholly rule out him adding to that tally.
His six triumphs can be seen below:
- 1998 Cannes Open
- 2001 British Masters
- 2004 Scottish Open
- 2008 Open de Andalucia
- 2009 Open de Espana
- 2011 Open de France
As we can see, his wins came in some pretty big tournaments and to gain his first and last (to date) wins on French soil will have surely made them that extra bit special. However, Levet came so close to an even bigger win, one that would probably have cemented his place as the greatest French golfer ever.
He never really contended at the Players Championship (the unofficial fifth major), or at the three majors on US soil. In addition, he never enjoyed a great week at a WGC event but he could hardly have come much closer to winning the Open Championship. He tied for fifth in 2004 but two years earlier went even closer.
At the 2002 Open Championship, he made it as far as a four-way play-off at Muirfield but was narrowly beaten by the brilliant Ernie Els. Levet shot a closing 66 to finish on 278, six under, tied with Els, plus Aussie duo Stuart Appleby and Steve Elkington. The four players set out on a four-hole shootout and Els and Levet both scored level-par 16, the Aussies both requiring 17 shots. At the first sudden-death hole between Els and Levet, the Frenchman blinked first and a bogey meant his nation’s long wait for a second major would be extended.