Dubuisson Shines on Big Stage


While Jason Day got all the glory with his victory in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Victor Dubuisson grabbed the golf world's attention with his remarkable string of victories during the week and his Houdini-esque escapes in Sunday's final match.

Just making it to the 18-hole finale with Day was remarkable, as the 23-year-old Frenchman survived two straight tight battles - against Graeme McDowell and Ernie Els - that each ended with him winning by the thinnest possible margin of 1-up.

But his coup de grace came late Sunday afternoon against Day. The 26-year-old Aussie enjoyed a 2-up lead with two to go and was in the driver's seat against Dubuisson (pronounced "doo-bwee-sohn," with his name translating to "bush" in English).

But Dubuisson - seeking to become the first French-born winner on the PGA Tour, had other ideas. On the 17th, he birdied to Day's par to extend the match another hole and on the last made an amazingly delicate bunker shot to three feet for a par as Day three-putted for bogey to force extra holes.

Back and forth the two went, with Dubuisson pulling off two escape shots that had veteran CBS announcers Nick Faldo, David Feherty and Gary McCord exclaiming they'd rarely seen one like that, and never two in consecutive holes. Indeed, Faldo proclaimed the pair of saves "without a doubt, the two greatest up-and-downs in a row in history."

Dubuisson's mythic heroics happened on the 19th and 20th holes - the first and ninth, respectively, at Dove Mountain, and both par-4s. After over-hitting the first green the Cannes native found his ball in deep rough next to a cholla cactus. Without as much as a cursory assessment of the situation, he chopped out of the gunk to four feet. Both he and Day made pars to move on.

At the 20th Dubuisson was in the same situation he was three hours before during regulation with Day - in deep scrub and amid rocks way left of the green. Again, without much dilly-dallying and with tremendous panache, the Frenchman and former top-ranked amateur in the world chopped out to eight feet. The announcers went wild, and all Day could do was wryly smile at his opponent's from-the-dead recoveries. Of course, Dubuisson made the putt to extend the match another hole.

Though he lost to Day's birdie on the 23rd, Dubuisson cemented himself in the history books with his Seve Ballesteros-like escapes and gutsy overall performance.

When asked later whether he considered taking unplayable lies with either shot on the extra holes, Dubuisson said firmly, "No, no, no, no."

"Those two shots were amazing," he admitted. "I just played it like I had nothing to lose."

"Vic, man, he has a lot of guts," an admiring Day said later. "He has a great short game - straight out of the cactus twice. For a 23-year-old kid, he's got a lot of game. We're going to see a lot of him for years to come . . . I kept shaking my head because there was a couple of time there where I thought he was absolutely dead - the tournament was mine."

For finishing second, Dubuisson earned $900,000 and sudden worldwide recognition. He also all but assured himself a PGA Tour card for next year, and likely clinched a spot on the 2014 European Ryder Cup team, moving to the top of the points list.

Count McDowell among the Europeans who hope Dubuisson makes the squad. "Victor is a great player. I'm hoping to be on the Ryder Cup team with him," said the Northern Irishman. "In fact, I wouldn't mind playing foursomes with him.

"I'm sure a lot of the guys would. He's a huge young new player from Europe and is going to be a great part of our team. Victor's got so much of that European flair."