Romain Buttarazzi: "Be rigorous in your choices".

"Golf is a culture of failure. You visualize things and 99% of the time you don't manage to do exactly what you wanted! You have to learn to find new solutions quickly." A culture that didn't stop 22-year-old Romain Buttarazzi from claiming victory at the French University Golf Championships. Romain fell into the hole at the age of 4 "to be with my father, who was also starting out", and entered national tournaments at the age of 14, before dreaming of going international two years ago.

"Finding solutions quickly

A love of golf inherited from passionate grandparents, which Romain explains first and foremost by "the constant contact with nature. I really enjoy it. But also by the psychology of a complete sport, requiring "patience, strategy, tenacity and a lot of humility. You can quickly lose your confidence and have to rebuild everything. You have to be rigorous in your choices, and believe in what you're working on.

A finance student at Montpellier Management, Romain, who has just completed his master's degree, has carried out his course of study while getting heavily involved in the Golf Club de Nîmes Campagne. Captain of the French Cup since 2017, he is involved in player selection, youth training and the development of the sporting project...

"Continue to play as a team

It's a double role that's not always easy to take on, especially when it comes to internships. "It's a question of organization and willpower, that's how I've always worked. I've never asked for flexible hours, and for the last 2 years I've been lucky enough to live next to the golf course, so in the evenings I can go and train quite easily."

Although Romain Buttarazzi is a true enthusiast, he has no plans to make golf his profession and wishes to remain in the amateur category, "mainly to continue playing as part of a team, which I can no longer envisage as a professional". As for his future, having just submitted his master's thesis, he sees it "in finance or real estate". Two fields in which the golfer's patience and rigor should make him a wise advisor.

UM sportsmen and women at the top!

The University of Montpellier celebrates its athletes who have won medals at the World, European and French University Championships at an annual ceremony organized by the SUAPS. Read the portraits of these champions who lead the demanding double life of student-athlete. Read all the portraits...