Rust. What rust?

France’s Victor Dubuisson, a European Ryder Cup star in 2014, retired two years ago at the young age of 33. The last time he played anywhere of note was in September 2023 when he withdrew from the BMW PGA Championship. Two weeks prior to that he withdrew from the Irish Open.

On Sunday, out of nowhere, the now 35-year-old popped up in France on the Alps Tour and shot a final-round 61 to get into a playoff in the Biarritz Cup, which he won on the second hole. He was a sponsor’s invite for the event that’s part of the developmental tour, which plays mostly in Europe, and is a feeder tour to the HotelPlanner Tour.

To make matters more interesting, the Alps Tour website said that Dubuisson would not accept the first-place check ($9,000 from the $56,000 purse) “in a gesture of personal principle.” That money went to Spain’s Jorge Maicas, who lost to Dubuisson in the playoff.

Dubuisson shot 62-65-61 for a 19-under-par 188 total on the par-69 Golf de Biarritz layout. Maicas shot 61-60 in the last two rounds. Dubuisson won with a birdie on the second playoff hole. Ireland’s Ronan Mullarney was third, one shot back.

“Those putts are never easy—especially uphill ones, which I don’t particularly like—and I had a few more than usual today,” Dubuisson said about his birdie to win. “But once you hit a good putt, it’s out of your hands whether it drops or not. That last one was an excellent putt to finish with.”

It is not clear if Dubuisson will continue to play, or if this appearance was done as a favour to a friend who is a sponsor of the event.

The Frenchman won two DP World Tour events, the 2013 and 2015 Turkish Airlines Opens. He lost in a playoff at the 2014 Nordea Masters. Those in the U.S. may remember Dubuisson for finishing runner-up to Jason Day in the 2014 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at Dove Mountain in Arizona. That match went five extra holes before Day won with a birdie.

All that good play during that stretch earned Dubuisson a spot on the 2014 Ryder Cup team at Gleneagles in Scotland, where he collected a 2-0-1 record in a 16½ to 11½ European victory. He paired with Graeme McDowell to win two foursomes matches and then tied Zach Johnson in the last singles match that ultimately did not factor into the end result.

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Main Image: Alps Tour