⛳0️⃣5️⃣2️⃣ Adrien Pendariès
By Adrien Pendariès
Meet Adrien Pendariès, a Franco-American golfer writing new chapters in the transatlantic game at the collegiate, professional, and elite levels.
I was raised in Paris, France, in the early 2000s by an American mother and a French father. My dad was a pro golfer on the PGA European Tour when I was born, and he introduced me to the game as soon as I could walk, with plastic clubs. Some of my first words were “golf ball,” “golf cart,” and “golf course”!
Adrien’s Story
Golf was popular when I was growing up. The Golf Channel existed already in France: golf wasn’t in the shadows, but it was much less popular than in the U.S. In the United States, it’s a cool sport! Here in France, it’s considered an “old rich man’s sport.” Imagine my surprise when, arriving at my university in North Carolina, the other student athletes told me they would love to be Tiger Woods and play golf!
Photo: Adrien Pendariès.
I had an exciting junior golf career in France (editor’s note: he was a member of the 2016 European Junior Ryder Cup team), but I knew that only the United States provided the opportunity to be a top athlete and student at the same time, under one roof. My mom insisted on getting a good education (she went to Tufts University in Boston) and my dad played college golf in the States as well (University of Houston). It was almost a “given” in my early teens that I would pursue my life as a student athlete on the other side of the Atlantic. I spent four of the best years of my life at Duke University, and was happy to have experienced the “American way of life”!
Playing college sports, as a team, allowed me to become close to American athletes and to better understand the importance of sports in the upbringing of American kids. This is quite different from how French kids are raised…Sports in America is very supportive of the “underdog,” very patriotic, and very much about winning.
The Sports Diplomacy Connection
Photo: Adrien Pendariès.
With an American Mom and a French Dad, and having grown up surrounded by athletes, I feel like I could be an ambassador for Franco-American sports diplomacy! Being the flag bearer of the French flag at competitions in America has always held a special place in my Franco-American heart.
I also helped my U.S. teammates better understand France. For example, I was known as the “French foodie,” and proudly introduced my teammates to French gastronomy (especially lamb, mussels, veal, and of course crêpes)!
I feel that sports is an amazing vector for transmitting teamwork, discipline and resilience and these same values contribute to the broader goals of cooperation among nations and cultures.
Mapping the Connection
From Paris, France to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Further Reading/Resources
[F] Alexandre Mazas, “Adrien Pendariès: ‘Mettre un pied dans la porte du PGA Tour’” Fédération Française de Golf, December 1, 2022.
[F] PLAYERPROD, “Adrien Pendariès – Rêve de JO Paris 2024 – Golf,” YouTube, April 11, 2022.
[E] Duke University Athletics, “@DukeMGolf’s Dream Round: Adrien Pendariès,” April 30, 2020.
[E] Adrien Pendariès on LinkedIn.
How to Cite This Entry
Pendariès, Adrien. “Voices: Adrien Pendariès,” FranceAndUS, https://www.franceussports.com/voices/052-adrien-pendaries. (date of consultation).
Meet the Pendariès Family
