France's Matthieu Pavon back to defend historic Farmers win

Matthieu Pavon knocked in an 8-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the Farmers Insurance Open last January and made PGA Tour history for his native France.

Pavon became the first Frenchman to win an official tour event and returns to San Diego this week to defend his title, with the tournament teeing off Wednesday at Torrey Pines Golf Course.

The Farmers Insurance Open utilizes both courses at Torrey Pines in the neighborhood of La Jolla. Every player in the field will play a round at both the North Course and the South Course; after the 36-hole cut, the famed South Course will be the setting for the weekend rounds.

The PGA Tour is also keeping the tournament as a Wednesday through Saturday affair to aim for some Saturday primetime fireworks for the final round - while avoiding a matchup against the AFC and NFC championship games on Sunday.

Pavon, 32, shot a 13-under-par 275 here last year, beating Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard by a single shot.

"No offense to easier golf course, but I'm not like a huge fan when a course gets between 20 and 30 under," Pavon said Tuesday. "I think it relates too much to the putter. Here it's really a ball-striking golf course and I like to see how intense and well-committed to the shots you have to be if you want to play great. I think this is why I kind of fell in love with Torrey the first time I played it."

Pavon had played mostly on the DP World Tour before earning a card in the States for the first time. After his maiden victory, he was in contention the very next week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and finished third in a rain-shortened event. He added a fifth-place finish at the U.S. Open.

"I think the second year is always kind of the confirmation year," Pavon said. "That was a great