[Sport] Golf: Victor Perez, the French candidate for the Ryder Cup

Frenchman Victor Perez, who finished fourth at Sunday’s World Match-Play Championships in Texas, has recently taken several steps to the top of world golf to claim a place in the European squad for the next Ryder Cup.

“The Ryder Cup is something that the Europeans are very proud of and you obviously want to try to be a part of it. But it’s still a bit far, because no Grand Slam tournaments have been played, right now. There are too many points at stake…”, Perez estimated Saturday, losing against future winner, American Billy Horschel, on the eve of his semi-final.
However, there is no doubt that Padraig Harrington, the captain of the European team that plays in Wisconsin from 24 to 26 September in the next edition, was not insensitive to the spectacular course of the French N.1 this week. Even if the latter also conceded defeat against Matt Kutcher for third place in the match.
Because 28-year-old Tarbais has made a series of performances for six months that have allowed him to climb into the world’s top 30 and stay there: second in the BMW PGA at Wentworth, seventh in the finals of the European circuit in Dubai, and special Ninth in the Players Championship, regarded by the Americans as the fifth “Major”.
In Austin, his calm impressed, as did his birdie/bogie ratio, at this world summit where no French had shone since finalist Victor Dubuis in 2014.
However, the “match-play” format, where two players/two pairs compete in a duel to win each hole, is similarly used in the very prestigious meeting between the United States and Europe, beginning with was planned in For a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

– Based in Scotland

If selected, Perez would be the fourth Frenchman to compete in the Ryder Cup in 2014, after Jean van de Velde (1999), Thomas Levett (2004) and Dubuson.
The son of a rugby player and coach, he knows the United States well, having spent four years at the University of New Mexico from 2011 to 2015.
Back in Europe, he set up his own clubs in Scotland, in Dundee, the homeland of golf, not far from the famous Saint-Andrews site, which allowed him to continue his classes on various, less manicured courses. , and in a very competitive context.
Since then, its progress was regular, and its margin for improvement remains unknown.
Second in Alps Tour qualification in December 2015, he climbed to the third European division and finished fifth in the final, thus earning his ticket to the Challenge Tour 2017.
He spent two seasons in this second European division, first finishing 18th and notably third, which qualified him for the larger European circuit in 2019.

It was there that he kicked into gear at the start of the season in November 2018, finishing third at the Hong Kong Open, then securing his first win at the Alfred Dunhill Lynx in Scotland in September 2019.
At the end of 2019, he was already ranked 41st in the world rankings. In 2020, despite the COVID pandemic, he finally featured in his first major, the PGA Championship, where he finished an excellent 22nd, but then missed the cut at the US Open.
He knows this, he should confirm his current good pass with a good performance in the majors. Good thing, Augusta Masters is coming up (April 8-11).