Victor Dubuisson of France has accepted Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour, meaning he can accept an unlimited number of sponsors exemptions in tournaments for the rest of the 2013-14 season.
The 23-year-old, who was born in Cannes, was virtually unknown in the United States before he finished second in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship last month, losing to Jason Day of Australia on the 23rd hole in the final.
“I was disappointed to lose the final, in the final match, but, you know, my goal was to get my PGA Tour card this year with the few invites I had and the WGC, I managed to do it after four events,” said Dubuisson, who captured the 2009 European Amateur Championship. “So I’m quite happy about that.”
Dubuisson collected $906,000 for his performance in the Accenture, giving him $1,061,906 in PGA Tour earnings this season, which probably will be enough for him to earn his PGA Tour card for next season on the non-member money list, even if he doesn’t make another dime.
Even though he has collected 409 non-member FedEx Cup points this season, he will not be eligible for the FedEx Cup playoffs unless he wins a PGA Tour event.
Dubuisson, whose only victory on the European Tour came in the Turkish Airlines Open last November, also tied for 59th in the Farmers Insurance Open, tied for 13th in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and tied for 40th in the Northern Trust Open.
His introduction to golf was watching Tiger Woods win the 1997 Masters.
“I started to play golf after I watched Tiger on TV winning this Masters, and it means a lot for me to play next month there at Augusta,” said Dubuisson, who was the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world for eight weeks late in 2009.
“I don’t really feel any pressure to go there. I’m more like, happy because I still watch sometimes the video of this 1997 Masters.”
Dubuisson is playing this week in the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral.
