French golfer Matthieu Pavon's surge at the PGA Championship

For him, it means a lot. Matthieu Pavon shone in the second round of the PGA Championship, the second Major of the year—the equivalent of the Grand Slam tournaments in tennis—held in Charlotte, USA, from Thursday, May 15 to Sunday, May 18. This performance felt like a liberation for the Frenchman, who made his mark in 2024 by winning a tournament on the American tour but seemed to be in a hole since the start of the season.

On Friday, at Quail Hollow in North Carolina, the Bordeaux native shot a fine 65, including six birdies (one shot under par, the contract to fulfill on each hole). "It was really very solid ," said Pavon once he returned to the clubhouse. " I had good momentum with the putter from the start. A few birdies on the first nine holes gave me confidence for the rest. Overall, it was a very satisfactory day."

With a total score of -6, the 32-year-old now sits in second place in the tournament, two shots behind the surprise leader, Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas (-8). Pavon shares second place with England's Matt Fitzpatrick and South Korea's Kim Si-woo. The latter made a lasting impression by making a hole-in-one on the 230-meter par-3 No. 6, the longest in the history of the competition. "I hit it exactly how I wanted, so it was cool and it was a memorable hole-in-one in a Major," Kim said.

Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, winner of the first Major of the season, the Augusta Masters, in April, and the defending champion, American Xander Schauffele, narrowly made the cut (only a portion of the players are selected for the final two days of the tournament) with a total score of 143, one shot over par. McIlroy alternated between very good (three birdies in the first eight holes) and bad (4 bogeys – one shot over par – in the last eight holes).

American Scott Scheffler, world number 1 and Olympic champion at the 2024 Paris Olympics, is on the lookout, just three shots behind Jhonattan Vegas, the leader of this PGA Championship. Victor Perez (+3), the other French player qualified for the tournament, did not make the cut .