No Frenchman has ever won the U.S. Open. Can TCU’s Paul Barjon shock the world?
Paul Barjon isn’t being listed among contenders or favorites for this week’s U.S. Open. Those distinctions belong to household names such as Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm.
Heck, Barjon probably is not even getting mentioned among the “sleepers” or “dark horses” in the 144-man field. After all, not many have probably heard of Barjon, the TCU product who earned a spot in the major championship with stellar play on the Korn Ferry Tour, the PGA Tour’s minor-league circuit.
For Barjon, being an afterthought in his U.S. Open debut is OK. All he needs is a tee time and an opportunity to showcase his skills among the world’s best this week at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York.
“It’s golf for all 144 players in the field,” said Barjon, the Fort Worth resident who plays out of Mira Vista Country Club. “Obviously some guys have resumes that are bigger than mine, like Tiger and all these guys know what they’re doing and have been there a ton.
“But at the end of the day we all get a tee time so that’s what I’m going to focus on. I’m going to try to do what I do every week and not get carried away watching other players. I’m lucky enough to have played in two PGA Tour events now, so I know how things work and how I have to stick to my own routine and not follow anybody.”
Barjon, a 27-year-old who grew up in New Caledonia, a French territory about 750 miles east of Australia in the Pacific, will tee off in the last group off No. 1 on Thursday. The 1:11 p.m. tee time features Barjon, Connor Syme and Marty Jertson. All three are playing in their first U.S. Open. The group will tee off No. 10 at 7:51 a.m. Friday.
Barjon has a chance to make history, too, as no Frenchman has ever won the U.S. Open. The only French golfer to win a major championship is Arnaud Massy at the 1907 British Open.
As Barjon — one of four Frenchmen in the field — said jokingly, “It’s been awhile. It almost feels like nobody from France has ever won because it’s been so long ago.”
Maybe Barjon can change that by shocking the world this week. Barjon has 500-to-1 odds of winning, according to the sportsbook William Hill. Only 14 players in the field have longer odds.
Barjon earned a spot in the field by finishing fifth on the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour points list. With the USGA canceling local and sectional qualifiers for the U.S. Open amid the coronavirus pandemic, the organization opted to give 10 spots to Korn Ferry players (the top five players on the Korn Ferry Tour regular season points list, plus the top five in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals).
U.S. Open courses are known for being among the most difficult challenges in golf. When Winged Foot hosted the 2006 U.S. Open, the winning score was 5-over by Geoff Ogilvy. Runner-ups Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie both double-bogeyed No. 18 in the final round to finish a shot back.
Difficult and challenging golf courses, though, are something that’s embraced by Barjon. He feels he has the game to play well under those circumstances.
Barjon has hit 66.2% of fairways this season and has a 33.9% birdie conversion rate on the greens. His 234 birdies in 2020 led the Korn Ferry Tour.
“I like when there’s a good challenge,” Barjon said. “Obviously I’ve never played anything like a U.S. Open setup, so I don’t really know. I can’t say right now that this is a perfect fit. It’s going to be hard for everybody, but I’m usually accurate off the tee so I like that kind of course where it’s tougher.”
Barjon feels good about the way he is playing going into the tournament, too. He finished tied for seventh at the Evans Scholars Invitational in Chicago last week, and had a second-place finish at the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz last month.
He’s got PGA Tour experience, as well, playing the Valero Texas Open (missed cut) and RBC Canadian Open (tied for 20th) last year. But nothing compares to playing in a major championship.
“I just want to have the best week possible,” Barjon said. “I’ve got to stay patient and do my best over four days. I’m looking forward to it. I have no PGA Tour status, so this is just going to be a great experience and bonus for me. I’m going to try to finish as high as possible.”
