Matthis Lefèvre: My Weekend at Jack’s Place
Where do I start? I was exhausted. Finally, I was able to go home following the end of our season at NMJC. I finished in a tie for seventh at the NJCAA National Championships in Newton, Kan. and our team finished in fourth overall.
I was excited to fly home and see my family for the first time since the summer of 2022. What some people may not know is that in September of 2022 my grandfather passed away and I was unable to go to his funeral because I was in the states getting ready for the fall golf season.
Just two weeks later I won my first professional event, the New Mexico Open. That was a very emotional moment for me given everything I had going on.
Fast forward nine months and I am back in France. It was May 30th, and I was finally able to visit my grandfather's grave and share a moment with him. Then, while I am sitting in the cemetery my phone began to blow up and people were calling and texting me. I said to myself what is happening?
Once I got out of the cemetery, my French coach Laurent Poncelet called me and I was able to answer. He told me that someone had called him and said that I have won the Jack Nicklaus Award. Laurent said that I would have to get ready to fly back to the US to accept the award from Jack Nicklaus himself.
I received a call from our golf coach at NMJC Jay Rees and I had to ask him if it was a big deal to win this award because everyone was calling me and congratulating me? I am going to be honest, I had not even heard of the award prior to winning it.
For the people reading who do not know what the Jack Nicklaus Award is, well it is presented to the national player of the year in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, as well as NAIA and NJCAA.
I had only been home for a few days and now I was going to be sent back to the US to go to my first PGA Tour event and be one of four golfers presented with the national player of the year award by one of the greatest golfers ever, Jack Nicklaus.
My French golf coach and I secured plane tickets and within three days we were on our way to the Memorial Tournament. We boarded our flight on Friday from Paris to Detroit and expected to have an easy route to Dublin, Ohio.
I decided to relax on the flight when two hours into the journey the flight attendant tapped me on the shoulder. She asked if I was willing to help subdue an unruly passenger that had become too intoxicated. So, I helped calm down the passenger, put plastic handcuffs on him, and sat with the guy for a couple hours.
Three hours later we made an emergency landing in Canada and dropped the passenger off with the authorities. You can even read about this on the news.
Unfortunately, the incident slowed my progress to the tournament. This caused us to miss our connecting flight and get in late Friday night.
Saturday, I arrived early and was able to see PGA golfers Alex Noren, Adam Scott, Colin Morikawa, and Jordan Speith. Then in the afternoon, I followed my favorite golfer, Rory Mcllroy.
Everything people say about Rory is true. It is unbelievable the way he hits the ball. It is not just the length, the sound that comes off the club is just different than any other golfer I've seen. The ball striking by Rory is perfect.
What I noticed was that the wedging, chipping, and putting is unreal with the PGA Tour guys compared to the competition I have faced when I'm competing.
Once Rory finished practicing after his round, he left and walked towards me and a group of 15 other fans. I was the first in line waiting for him. Rory signed my credential and even took a picture with me. It was one of the greatest moments of my life.
What people may not know about me is that Rory is the reason that I am playing golf at the moment. I had tough times when I was younger playing golf from age 15-18 before I came over to the US.
The reason I did not give up was because of Rory. I would watch thousands of videos of him on the internet growing up. He inspired me and that's why I teared up when he took a picture with me and signed my credential. Seeing him in person for the first time was a full circle moment.
Sunday was the big day where I would meet Jack Nicklaus. It's funny because prior to coming to The Memorial Tournament I did not own a sports jacket. I had to borrow one from my home golf club in France, so that's what you see me wearing in the pictures.
We arrived in the morning on Sunday for the press conference before the final round. When Jack showed up, he warmed the room with a few jokes. I was the last one to climb up the steps and have a seat at the table by the podium. The only seat left was right next to Mr. Nicklaus.
He was very personable, patting me on the back as he spoke with me. It was a weird feeling sitting next to him because this guy is a living legend who has won the most majors ever and so many tournaments and now he is talking about me and my accomplishments.
One by one our names were announced along with what we accomplished in college. They said my name, my school, and the amount of wins I had as I got up to take a picture with Jack and held the trophy.
I was able to speak with Jack one-on-one for ten minutes after the press conference was over. He is not a selfish or arrogant guy. If you don't ask him, he will not talk about himself. He was more interested in talking about me, what I have done, and my future in golf.
I know it is a small thing, but he remembered my name. The last thing I told him was that I will see you in a few years here at The Memorial, so I got a good laugh out of him.
Everything happened so fast. It was crazy for me to experience so many things within a week like I did after I won the Jack Nicklaus Award. I went from being at my home in France to going to my first PGA Tour event, meeting Jack Nicklaus, and taking a picture with Rory Mcllroy all in a matter of five days.
People only see the award. They do not see how many hours, or how many sacrifices I've made. This award, like the other trophies I've won at NMJC, is validation for all the work and effort I have put in over my golf career. I worked those long hours practicing and training for moments like these. It reminds me why I love golf so much.
Being at The Memorial helped me realize what the high level golf is like. I got to see in person how the great players play and practice. I have said since I was a kid that I want to be a PGA Tour player without knowing what it looks like, but thanks to my experience at this tournament I can imagine what it looks like.
My weekend at Jack's Place made me realize even more that playing professional golf is what I want to do. I want to sign a fan's hat or t-shirt and have them be excited. I want to inspire other golfers and have people follow me like I saw at The Memorial.
The goal for me now is clear. I want to one day make it to the PGA Tour and represent my home country of France. Hopefully that dream includes shaking Jack Nicklaus' hand once again.
By: Matthis Lefèvre