Retired pro wins surprise start, declines check due to ‘principle’

Two and a half years ago, Victor Dubuisson, at age 33, retired from pro golf. He walked away as a two-time DP World Tour winner and Ryder Cupper, earning 2 1/2 points and helping Europe dominate the Americans at Gleneagles.

The Frenchman announced his surprise retirement in December 2023 amid a season in which he played just eight events, although he withdrew after the first round of his last two. He had planned to qualify for LIV Golf for the 2024 season but eventually pulled his name from consideration.

Instead, he retired.

He told French newspaper L’Equipe: “The solitude had become extremely heavy.”

He planned to pursue coaching.

“I started from nothing, so I’m extremely satisfied with what I’ve done. I see myself as a little kid with my little bag and my Decathlon clubs,” he told L’Equipe. “I wasn’t at all predestined to have this career. A lot of people will say that I could have done more and that I could have been World No. 1. But my strength is being satisfied with what I had. I’m happy with that. I don’t live in regret to dwell on all the time.”

So you can understand why it was somewhat of a surprise when Dubuisson appeared at this past week’s Biarritz Cup, a tournament in Biarritz, France, on the Alps Tour, a European development circuit.

And he won. He shot rounds of 62, 65 and 61 to finish 19 under and eventually won in a playoff, taking down Spain’s Jorge Maicas with a birdie on the second playoff hole.

Maicas, however, didn’t have to settle for second-place money. According to the Alps Tour website, “in a gesture of personal principle,” Dubuisson declined his paycheck.

Instead, that check (about $9,000 U.S. currency) was given to Maicas.

Dubuisson didn’t mention the money in a short interview on the Alps Tour website, but he did receive a sponsor’s exemption into the event and expressed his gratitude toward Gerald Bouhourd, the president of C&S Partners, which sponsored the event.

“I’m very happy, and especially pleased for Gerald,” Dubuisson said. “He’s the title sponsor of the tournament and the one who invited me to play this week. We met through golf and developed a strong friendship. I admire how he supports young golfers and professionals — that’s created a special bond between us. I’m also proud to coach some of his players, and this week, the plan was for him to caddie for me so we could experience the tournament together. It definitely turned out to be a great week.”

Dubuisson earned about $11.9 million in his DP World Tour career and just over $1 million in 29 career PGA Tour starts.