Ryder Cup star makes shock gesture after first win in 10 years

Victor Dubuisson doesn’t do things like other golfers. But then Victor Dubuisson isn’t like other golfers. And this most recent story about the enigmatic Frenchman proves just that…

After 10 years, Victor Dubuisson is back in the winner’s circle.

The Frenchman – a two-time DP World Tour champion and a member of the Europe’s victorious 2014 Ryder Cup team – edged Jorge Maicas in a playoff at the Biarritz Cup on the Alps Tour.

The twist? Dubuisson retired from professional golf two years ago.

The loneliness of being a tour player had become a persistent burden. “The solitude had become extremely heavy,” he told L’Equipe.

“I started from nothing, so I’m extremely satisfied with what I’ve done. I see myself as a little kid with my little bag and my Decathlon clubs,” he added. “I wasn’t at all predestined to have this career. A lot of people will say that I could have done more and that I could have been World No.1.

“But my strength is being satisfied with what I had. I’m happy with that. I don’t live in regret to dwell on all the time.”

Now 35, Dubuisson has found a new social life coaching up-and-coming stars in Tenerife.

“I spend time with many different people every week and I’ve made many new friends,” he told Bunkered last year. “When you spend a week with people you get to know them. I’ve met many, many nice people and it’s a completely different life.”

But don’t expect this to be more than a one-off. When Gerald Bouhourd, the president of the Biarritz Cup’s title sponsor, C&S Partners, offered his friend a spot in the field, he sold it to Dubuisson as an opportunity for young players to compete in an event on the developmental tour alongside an established player. Dubuisson, a keen fisherman, took the bait.

Dubuisson and Maicas carded flawless final rounds of 61 and 60 respectively to finish level on 19-under-par for the three-day event. Dubuisson went on to win with a birdie at the second extra hole.

Then he did something extraordinary. He refused the winner’s prize money.

That, instead, went to Maicas.

While €7,600 – roughly $9,000 – may be pocket change to a man who earned more than $12 million in his career, it could be career-changing for his Spanish opponent. The remainder of the €47,500 purse will be distributed among the rest of the field.

While he did not directly address the prize money, Dubuisson did note that he is “very happy, and especially pleased for Gerald”.

Dubuisson, who won the Turkish Airlines Open either side of adding two-and-a-half points to Europe’s cause at Gleneagles, continued: “We met through golf and developed a strong friendship. I admire how he supports young golfers and professionals – that’s created a special bond between us.

“I’m also proud to coach some of his players, and this week the plan was for him to caddie for me so we could experience the tournament together. It definitely turned out to be a great week.

“It was a real pleasure to be part of it.” 

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