He is variously known as V-Dub, that strange French guy and golf’s next Seve Ballesteros. So, when the mysterious Victor Dubuisson made his public entrance at Gleneagles on Tuesday before his debut in the Ryder Cup, it was reassuring to see he was not wearing a cape and underpants. He is exceptional, he can be secretive, he is extravagantly gifted – and he is only mildly eccentric.

“Victor does not realise how big he is in France for everyone, young and old,” the French journalist Agathe Séron told the Guardian. “At dinner tables, golf people talk about him all the time. He is our next big sporting superstar.”

There was a glimpse of that mercurial talent at the World Match Play Championship in February when his short game aroused memories of Ballesteros at his most imperious; shots, some from impossible positions, played without fear and in full expectation of success. Dubuisson is aware of the comparison.

“I’ve seen many a recording of him playing and, yeah, he was an amazing, amazing player,” said the 24-year-old resident of Cannes (even his address is clouded in confusion, given variously as Andorra, where he does occasionally hang his hat, and Monte Carlo). “When some people compared my shots with what he used to, with a few shots he did in the past, it was a very big thing for me. It was very emotional.”

There have been many emotional moments in his obscure past, it would seem, from schooling that finished when he was aged either nine or 12 because of a claimed dispute with his father – a respected banker – to a more recent episode when he threatened to turn around at a US airport and go home when confronted by an officious customs officer.

Yet those few who know him well speak of a kind, affectionate young man and not the loner of growing rumour. He embraces the team environment and is already a hit in the European locker room, with Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell his unofficial guardians.

“I’ve heard him described as an enigma,” McDowell said, “and just a tough guy to get your head around, [to know] what he’s thinking. Obviously he doesn’t lack for talent. His relaxed mood, personality, could be confused with intimidation and nervousness. I’ve been trying to get close to him the last few months and spend a little time with him. He’s a great guy.”

Although Lee Westwood reckoned it was “very difficult to know what to make of Victor”, he went on to observe: “He’s quite shy. He’s quite unpredictable. He’s got a lot of flair. He’s got tons of game. He’s obviously good at matchplay, as he proved in Arizona at the start of the year. I think he’ll settle into it well. I think he’ll be a good team man and he’ll be a spark of energy.”

Paul McGinley is impressed. “This time last year, although I had played with him a couple of times, I couldn’t say I knew him,” the European captain said. “But, when he came in second in the Match Play, having lost in the final and having won in Turkey last year, he came on my radar. I made it my business to get to know him over the last six months. He’s a really great guy. I like him. He’s got flair, he’s got charisma, he’s got Hollywood looks. He would do just as well in Hollywood as he would on the golf course. There’s something special about him and I kind of like the fact that he’s different.”

Thomas Bjorn put it more forcefully: “I actually have a funny feeling that this guy might just stand up and be a great hero by the end of this week.”

As for the man himself, Dubuisson said: “I’m not very different. I won’t tell you now anything about ... It’s, like, if I ask you something personal, you will not answer now. I think I’m funny, cool. I really enjoy the crowd and people, all the expectation and the attention. This morning at, like, 8.30, it was really cold and there were already 500 people waiting on the range. It’s really pleasant. The least we can do is to give them back what they do for us.”

Séron awaits the day when Dubuisson will feel comfortable being more open about his private life. “Maybe then,” she says, “they will stop asking the questions.” That is up to him. And so is his golf in what might be a momentous few days for him this weekend.

Other Frenchman who have featured in the Ryder Cup

Jean van de Velde 1999

Record P1 W0 T0 L1

Van de Velde became the first ever Frenchman to compete in the Ryder Cup after finishing tied 2nd at The Open Championship of the same year. His only match came on the Sunday afternoon against Davis Love III, who convincingly won 6 & 5 to claim the Americans’ first point of the day as they staged a dramatic last-day comeback to win the Ryder Cup by 14½ to 13½ points.

Thomas Levet 2004

Record P2 W1 T0 L1

Levet, paired with Miguel Ángel Jiménez in the Friday afternoon foursomes, conceded the Americans’ first full point in a defeat to Chris diMarco and Jay Haas. However, he then became the first Frenchman to score a point at the Ryder Cup, edging past Fred Funk on the way to a record-breaking European victory of 18½ to 9½ points, which at that point was their biggest winning margin in the history of the event.