Matthieu Pavon did the right thing.
At least that’s what Bryson DeChambeau told Pavon in scoring on Sunday evening at Pinehurst No. 2, just moments after DeChambeau had rolled in a par putt from 3 feet and change on the 18th green to win the U.S. Open – and Pavon had followed DeChambeau by cleaning up his 3-footer for par to finish solo fifth.
When Pavon marked his ball instead of putting out to set the stage for DeChambeau, many spectators starting booing Pavon. That prompted DeChambeau to quiet the crowd before going through his routine.
Pavon told Barstool’s Dan Rapaport that he thought he needed to make par to secure spots in all of next year’s majors. That wasn’t the case, though Pavon did save himself an extra $50,000 by making the putt.
DeChambeau celebrated after sinking his putt and then settled down momentarily for Pavon to finish.
Matthieu Pavon made the right move not finishing first on 18 on Sunday, and Bryson thanked him after the round for allowing him to win it the right way. @matthieupavon pic.twitter.com/m9gJ5zuH43
— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) June 20, 2024
Pavon would soon apologize to DeChambeau, saying, “Bryson, I’m really sorry, dude. I should’ve probably finished it.”
DeChambeau, though, was having none of it, explaining to Pavon that an apology was unnecessary.
As Pavon recalled, “He said, ‘Dude, you’ve done the right thing. It’s important for you. … Thanks [for] not doing it because you would have showed me the line, and I think it’s not fair for Rory [McIlroy], and I don’t want to win it that way.’”
