As a keen surfer, Benjamin Hebert is a man who spent much of his youth predicting waves and, with a new surge of talented young French golfers emerging on The European Tour in 2012, he believes a Major-winning superstar is on the horizon for his home country.
This year heralds a record-breaking season for French golf, with 20 full Members plying their trade on The European Tour – more than ever before.
After a stunning year on the Challenge Tour which yielded three victories and, consequently, an automatic card for The European Tour, Hebert leads the charge of graduates.
One of the great stories of the 2011 Challenge Tour season was the success of a tight-knit group of young Frenchmen, who looked more like a relaxed bunch of childhood friends than competitive golfers battling it out for their livelihoods.
It was an atmosphere which bred success, with seven French wins in 25 Challenge Tour tournaments, and one which Hebert thinks may soon produce France’s greatest golfer.
“We are all very close friends,” said Hebert. “And with (Romain) Wattel, (Victor) Dubuisson etc and the guys who came through the Qualifying School, there’s a really good atmosphere among us.
“It’s very positive for French golf because the French Federation did a great job in getting us to the top level of amateur golf, and now we’ve turned pro and reached the peak of professional golf.
“France hasn’t yet had that really great player who has won many Major tournaments and played in Ryder Cups, so I think that it’s coming soon.”
Does Hebert think that he is the one to fulfil that prophecy?
“Maybe,” said the 24 year old with a smile. “I’m going to work for it and hopefully it could be me.”
Certainly, the Brive-born man has proven himself to be a raw talent worth watching, having only seriously focussed on building a career in golf at the age of 18.
Prior to that, Hebert had other distractions after moving with his family to the idyllic French Polynesian island of Tahiti when he was 14.
“I like surfing a lot,” he explains. “It’s a great sport. I started in Tahiti - it’s maybe one of the only things you can do there. The ocean is everywhere and temperature of the water is 20-30 degrees all year so you live in shorts and a t-shirt all the time. In Tahiti, I surfed more than I played golf.
“I started too late to think about a professional career in surfing. At 14 most of the guys are incredible. It’s just a hobby but it’s a hobby which plays a big part in my life.
“At weekends in Tahiti I just surfed all day. There were good waves close to the golf course, which was the only one on the island, so it was just surfing then golfing, or golfing then surfing.”
He began to take his golf more seriously on his return to France four years later - this time to Moliet on the South-West coast - because “it was the only thing I could do, really”.
Success soon followed, a win at the European Amateur Championship in 2007 providing the highlight of his amateur career, while he was selected for numerous squads, including the France team for the European Team Championship and Eisenhower Trophy, as well as the Continental European Team for the St Andrews Trophy.
A professional career beckoned and after just one year on the Alps Tour, Hebert was thrust into the limelight when he earned a European Tour card for 2010 in his first attempt at the Qualifying School. He lost it that season, however, and admits that it came too soon, but after a year building his confidence and experience on the Challenge Tour, he believes he is now ready to shine.
“Everything was new in my first year so it was pretty difficult to concentrate and feel good in that environment,” he said. “After a poor start I had some good results and made some cuts, but I lost the card and didn’t qualify at Q-School so I came back to the Challenge Tour and then I won three tournaments.
“Last year did give me confidence because I know that the Challenge Tour is not now where I should be playing. I need to make the next step, now I have to concentrate on The European Tour. I feel better and more confident now to go on The European Tour so I’m more ready.”
The tide is high in the world of French golf and Hebert has been riding the crest of that wave. The real test, however, is ahead of him as he attempts to make a splash on the biggest stage of all.
