There have been a number of performances from Ryder Cup rookies over the years which have been so impressive that you can almost immediately mark them down as stalwarts of the event for years to come.
Scottie Scheffler was something of a surprise package at Whistling Straits in 2021, while Tommy Fleetwood won four points from five matches three years earlier at Le Golf National. However, it is not always the case that a brilliant bow marks the start of a lengthy Ryder Cup career.
Thomas Pieters was the leading points scorer on either side in 2016, but has not played in the event again. Meanwhile, Nicolas Colsaerts blew Tiger Woods away on what proved to be his one and only appearance in the Ryder Cup at Medinah in 2012.
And in between those two events came the debut of a player who appeared to almost be unaware of how talented he could be, particularly in a matchplay situation. However, 10 years on, there seems to be no chance of him playing in another Ryder Cup following his retirement from the game in 2023 at the age of just 33.
When Victor Dubuisson looked set to be ‘Europe’s next superstar’
Victor Dubuisson provided a hint of his potential at the 2013 Turkish Airlines Open, finishing two shots clear of Jamie Donaldson for his first win on the European Tour. If that victory went under the radar however, it would not be long at all until the entire golfing world knew about the Frenchman.
Dubuisson reached the final of the 2014 WGC-Accenture Match Play after beating the likes of Bubba Watson, Graeme McDowell and Ernie Els. That set up a showdown with future world number one Jason Day in the Arizona desert. What followed was one of the most remarkable performances the event has ever seen.
Dubuisson found himself two down after the first two holes, and he actually never led in the match. In fact, Day was three up after 12, and still had a two hole lead as the pair teed off on 17.
But Dubuisson provided a hint of what was to come by holing a lengthy putt on the penultimate hole to halve the deficit. And additional holes were indeed needed when the youngster won the 18th too.
As soon as it appeared that he had fought his way back into the contest, it seemed Dubuisson had played his way out again, when his ball got stuck amongst the cacti alongside the green on the first extra hole. While many would have taken all of the time in the world to try and work out how exactly they would hit the shot, Dubuisson took a swing almost immediately, somehow making nearly perfect contact and leaving himself a par putt he would indeed make.
‘What have I got to do to beat this guy?’
What was even more remarkable was that Dubuisson put himself in an even worse spot on the following hole and still found a way to get up and down. Unsurprisingly, Day was left completely stunned when the Australian did finally manage to secure the win on the fifth play-off hole.
“We’re in the first play-off hole and he hits it in the back, over into a cactus, and I’m watching this and I’m like, this is great, all I have to do is hit the green. I miss the green, short and left. And then, he gets up there and takes maybe 15 seconds and he’s in there and just hits it without even thinking about it. And then he’s hitting the TV wire and everything. It’s coming out, bobbling out, going out through the rough. He hits it down to six feet or something like that,” he told The Smylie Show earlier this year.
“I hole it, he holes out and then he does the exact same thing the next hole. He hooks his second shot left into a cactus and hits a shot up and over. I’m just sitting there laughing, like what have I got to do to beat this guy? Just unreal.”
It really did feel like a star-making performance for Dubuisson. Certainly, someone who would have been delighted with what he saw was Paul McGinley, the man set to captain Europe at the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles later that year. The only question was how exactly would McGinley get the best out of Dubuisson that week in Scotland.
An inspired captaincy sets the stage for Dubuisson to enjoy a dream Ryder Cup debut
It turned out that the answer was pairing the rookie with Graeme McDowell, the man who had won the decisive match at Celtic Manor four years earlier.
The first hurdle put in front of them was a big one. The partnership of Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley had been unbelievable at Medinah two years earlier, going unbeaten. They also beat Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy on the Friday morning in 2014.
So it was a real statement when Dubuisson and McDowell clinched a 3&2 victory in the final match out on Friday afternoon. McDowell could not praise his partner high enough after their win.
“I’ve always been very fortunate in Ryder Cups to have pretty decent partners. Obviously playing with Rory [McIlroy] the last couple years; he turned out okay. But I was very fortunate to be playing alongside a player [Dubuisson] who I think really is Europe’s next superstar. My playing partner today was really awesome,” he said, as reported by Irish Times.
They would win again on Saturday, beating Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler 5&4 in the afternoon. Dubuisson would ensure that he would go unbeaten for the week by securing a half point in the singles in the anchor match against Zach Johnson as Europe secured an emphatic win.
Where Dubuisson is now
Unfortunately, that would prove to be as good as it got for Dubuisson’s professional career. He would win the Turkish Airlines Open for a second time in 2015. But he would miss the cut in five of the seven majors he would play across 2015 and 2016.
Dubuisson would miss most of the 2018 season after undergoing surgery. But he was unable to get back to his very best upon his return, and he would retire from professional golf in 2023. His last appearance on the DP World Tour saw him withdraw from that year’s BMW PGA Championship after carding a 77 in the opening round.
Dubuisson went into coaching shortly after retirement, and suggested in an interview with Bunkered in 2024 that he much prefers life now that he is no longer on tour.
Unfortunately, the latter stages of Dubuisson’s playing career will not live long in the memory.
Thankfully, anyone who watched him that season a decade ago will know that Dubuisson is one player who will simply be impossible to forget.
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