Matthieu Pavon Shares One-Word Advice With French Pair Ahead Of Women's Olympic Event
Pavon struggled in the men's Olympic golf event after Perrine Delacour revealed he had been overwhelmed with emotion early on in the week


French male pair Victor Perez and Matthieu Pavon proved that how well someone deals with the pressure of a home Olympic Games can have a significant effect on their prospects for the week.
Perez seemed to embrace the passionate home crowd at Le Golf National and thrived upon the energy - ultimately finishing just a single stroke outside of the medals thanks to a sublime round of 63 on Sunday.
Meanwhile, it later emerged that Pavon struggled with nerves early in the week and ended up finishing dead last among the 58 players who completed four rounds.
Ahead of the women's Olympic golf event at Paris 2024, which starts on Wednesday, the home duo of Celine Boutier and Perrine Delacour spoke about how they plan to cope with the significant degree of expectation from their own supporters - especially Boutier, who is the World No.7.
Explaining how they had both ventured out onto L'Albatros course to soak up the atmosphere during the latter stages of the men's tournament, Boutier said the huge crowds made it tough to see what was going on in the fairway.
A view of the first hole at Le Golf National during the men's Olympics golf tournament
Boutier said: "I was actually going on the first tee to be able to sing "La Marseillaise" because I wanted to sing it on the first tee and then nobody institutionally sung it on the first tee. I was a bit disappointed.
"But it was super cool -- actually, I didn't even see anything because there was too many people. It was better when I watched it on TV like on the screen.
Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter
Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.
"It was really cool to be able to see it and experience it. I think they told us we have to expect a lot -- the next few days. We definitely didn't hear that in Evian."
30,000 tickets were made available every day at Le Golf National, and should they sell out - or even come close - it is likely to be the biggest crowd many of the 60-woman field has ever performed in front of.
Delacour - who landed her first Ladies European Tour title earlier this season - went on to reveal that she picked the brains of the disappointed Pavon to see if she could understand how to cope with the huge crowds and passionate support.
Matthieu Pavon
She said: "We had the men's before and that was good, and yesterday I spent some time with Matthieu asking a couple questions like how he felt on the first tee to kind of have a couple tips and get ready for Wednesday."
Asked what advice he shared, Delacour replied with just one word: "Breathe."
She continued: "He actually struggled the first tee last Thursday. He was emotionally like super high, which is normal. You don't expect to have that on the first tee.
Perrine Delacour
"He did say during the end of the week, he was so emotional on Thursday that he struggled during the week. That for myself personally helped me. Like, okay, I need to put some rest early in the week to be able to carry it for four days in a row."
As with the men's event, the women will compete in four days of individual stroke play at Le Golf National as there is no cut.
Delacour will hit the opening tee shot of the Paris 2024 women's Olympic golf tournament at 9am local time (3am ET/8am BST) on Wednesday while Boutier's first-round tee time is 11:55am local time (5:55am ET/10:55am BST).
Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Joaquin Niemann. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and recently reached his Handicap goal of 18 for the first time. He attended both the 150th and 151st Open Championships and dreams of attending The Masters one day.
-
Valspar Championship Picks, Predictions And Odds
The final event of the Florida Swing comes from the Valspar Championship, where nearly half of the world's top 50 are set to tee it up on the Copperhead Course
By Matt Cradock Published
-
Porsche Singapore Classic 2025 Picks, Predictions And Odds
The DP World Tour returns in Asia this week at the Porsche Singapore Classic, and we've picked our favorites to contend as well as an outside shout for the title
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Charley Hull Makes £10,000 Bet To Give Up Smoking Habit
Posting to her Instagram story, Hull revealed that she has made a £10,000 bet to quit smoking over the next two months
By Matt Cradock Published
-
You Don't See This Very Often... Why Does This Tour Pro Have A Right Handed And Left Handed Putter In The Bag This Week?
Playing the Australian Women's Classic, it was revealed that Marianne Skarpnord had put two putters in her bag for the week, with the reason being quite simple
By Matt Cradock Published
-
Charley Hull And Georgia Hall Knocked Out Of Sunningdale Foursomes
The LPGA Tour stars fell short against Tom Shadbolt and Ben Evans in the last 16 of the prestigious contest
By Mike Hall Published
-
Charley Hull And Georgia Hall Progress As Gareth Bale Knocked Out Of Sunningdale Foursomes
The Solheim Cup stars made it through on Tuesday as five-time Champions League winner Gareth Bale lost on the final hole
By Elliott Heath Published
-
Charley Hull and Gareth Bale Among Star Names At Sunningdale Foursomes
Some big names are set to appear in the historic foursomes event for 2025, which has seen the likes of Luke Donald and Sam Torrance win previously
By Matt Cradock Published
-
Japanese Star Ties Course Record To Secure Blue Bay LPGA Title
Rio Takeda carded a closing eight-under 64 at the difficult Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course on Hainan Island, China to clinch her second LPGA Tour title
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Australian WPGA Championship Cancelled Ahead Of Gold Coast Cyclone
The Australian WPGA Championship has been cancelled due to the threat posed by Cyclone Alfred
By Mike Hall Published
-
Blue Bay LPGA Prize Money Payout 2025
The LPGA Tour heads to China, where Bailey Tardy defends her title as players compete for the largest purse of the season so far
By Mike Hall Published