On January 28, 2024, Matthieu Pavon achieved an unexpected feat by winning at the end of the suspense at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, in San Diego (California), thus becoming the first Frenchman to win a PGA tournament – the circuit the most prestigious – in the modern era. Almost a year later, the outcome of the election at the head of the French Golf Federation (FFGolf) offered far fewer twists and turns. The only candidate for re-election, Pascal Grizot obtained 97.8% of the votes of the 1,065 voters (club owners and presidents of sports associations), Wednesday December 4, and is therefore leaving for a second four-year term.
Read also | Golf: Céline Boutier wins her first tournament in a year in China
Read later
At the heart of a sometimes turbulent electoral period in sports federations, golf is an exception. “This has not always been the case, but the golf industry is currently united behind the federation. It’s a mark of trust”estimates Pascal Grizot, former owner of several supermarkets today at the head of an investment fund. During his first candidacy, in 2020, the now 62-year-old businessman was also alone in running for the head of the body, after having been its vice-president from 2009 to 2020. “Obviously, it’s more pleasant for me not to have to run a campaign, I was able to continue working at the federation during that time,” he explains
His first mandate was marked by the management of the Covid-19 health crisis and the controversies linked to the authorizations granted to golf courses to water their greens (the part mowed close to the hole), even in periods of drought. These privileges provoked the anger of environmental activists, who carried out numerous defacement operations in several clubs during the summer of 2023.
-Present in the media
At the start of the year, Pascal Grizot also found himself on the front line defending his sport in the face of attacks from MP Mathilde Panot (La France insoumise) in the run-up to the European elections. “The rich vote!” Racists and golfers too. And you ? »she published on her social networks in February 2024. The president of the FFGolf responded to her with an open letter and by speaking in the media, notably in the program “Touche pas à mon poste”, on C8.
“Limits had been crossed, there was a form of injustice in this campaignexplains Pascal Grizot. But these attacks gave us the opportunity to get media attention, which is not often the case. We took advantage of it. » President of the seventh sports federation in France with the number of licensees – 440,000 –, Pascal Grizot could run for a third and final term in 2028. It remains to be seen whether this time he would have an opponent facing him.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Saudi Arabia relies heavily on sport
Read later
