PINEHURST, N.C. – Matthieu Pavon tore up the par 5s on Thursday at Pinehurst No. 2 in the opening round of the 124th U.S. Open.
There are just two par 5s on the scorecard this week at the famed Donald Ross layout, which is playing as a par 70, and Pavon eagled them both.
The 31-year-old Frenchman opened with four pars on the card before ripping a 338-yard tee shot at the 582-yard fifth hole, ripping his second from 239 yards to 18 feet and rolling in the putt.
He tacked on a birdie at the par-4 eighth and turned in 32.
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The only par 5 on the back nine is at No. 10, playing a whopping 619 yards. No problem for Pavon. The PGA Tour rookie, who won the Farmers Insurance Open in February, sent a fairway wood from 289 yards to 27 feet. Draino. A second eagle on the day for Pavon and not a bad way to start the championship. That put Pavon at 5 under, which could be a good winning score on Sunday.
Pavon gave one stroke back at the 11th but drilled a nice 15-foot par putt at No. 12 and held an early two-stroke lead during early action of the first round.
Fifth hole
Stop us if you’ve heard this before…
An eagle on 5, this time from new co-leader @matthieupavon
pic.twitter.com/dyNI61kmuh
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2024
10th hole
Magnifique!
Solo leader @matthieupavon with his *second* eagle of the morning. pic.twitter.com/4hFyWbFfKh
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2024