Antoine Rozner’s fortune changed in one tough putt
Parisian went from No. 99 to No. 63 and playing in the World Golf Championship
For a sport known for its glacial pace, fortunes can change quickly in golf.
Antoine Rozner is the latest example.
Two weeks ago, Rozner was No. 99 in the world and tied for the lead in the Qatar Masters when the 28-yearold from Paris stood over a 60-foot birdie putt on the final hole, thinking only of getting the speed right.
“It was a very tough putt,” he said Tuesday. “When you’re a kid, you practice like, ‘This is the putt to win.’ But you don’t practice a 60-footer. It’s usually a 20-footer. It was like in a dream.”
This one went in. The victory was his second in his last six starts on the European Tour, and it moved Rozner to No. 63 in the world. That was the cutoff for the top 64 players to get in the Dell Technologies Match Play.
One minute he’s in Qatar, the next he’s in Texas for his World Golf Championship debut, playing a practice
round with British Open champion Shane Lowry and preparing for his opening match against U.S. Open champion Bryson Dechambeau.
“I was just trying to win a tournament,” Rozner said. “It’s a bonus to be here. It’s exciting, a good reward.”
The most recent World Golf Championship, which moved from Mexico City to Florida this year because of the pandemic, invites top players from the main six tours around the world. It’s not odd to get a few players who aren’t exactly household names.
The Match Play is the deepest field, and Rozner earned his spot even before five players withdrew because of injury (Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka and Justin Rose) or scheduling (Adam Scott) or COVID -19 (Gary Woodland).
His last time competing in this format was nearly five years ago in the Palmer Cup, matches between college players from the U.S. and Europe. Rozner won all four of his matches at Formby Golf Club. His last experience in match play? That was in 2018 at Le Golf National outside Paris — as a spectator.
“It’s not every day you have a Ryder Cup 30 minutes from your home, no?” he said with a smile. “The first day, I was on the first tee at 6 a.m. to watch and be ready. The atmosphere was just amazing.”
Those 20-foot putts he used to practice as a kid in France? He said they were to win the Masters, and there’s a chance the Frenchman can get to Augusta National next month if he can win enough matches to move into the top 50.
“I haven’t done the math,” he said. “We’ll see how that goes. I’m trying to take it match after match, step after step.”
He makes it sound like a slow process. He knows from experience it can yield quick results.