Gregory Havret will head into the first major tournament of his career on a champagne-induced high this week after his stunning Scottish Open success at the weekend.
The Frenchman defied the odds and Phil Mickelson to pull off the biggest win of his career in a play-off with the world No. 3 after four days of golf that belied his status as the 320th-ranked player in the world.
Havret, who was showered with fizz by his compatriots Thomas Levet and Raphael Jacquelin after clinching his victory with a par to Mickelson's bogey at the first play-off hole, also ensured he will be in the field for the British Open at Carnoustie. It will be his first appearance in one of golf's major tournaments.
Photo: AP
"A few months ago, I missed qualifying for the US Open by one spot, so this is just like a dream," he said.
"I don't have enough words to say how much this means to me. I always knew it was possible, especially on a course like this one, which I love so much, but, especially playing with Phil, it was just an amazing experience," he said.
Having missed no fewer than nine cuts this season, Havret suddenly found some form at the French Open two weeks ago and followed that up with a share of third place at the European Open in Dublin last weekend.
It was his first win since he claimed the 2001 Italian Open in his first year on tour and the £500,000 (US$1 million) winner's cheque was four times bigger than his previous best - which came in Dublin.
The remarkable turnaround in his fortunes is something Havret attributes to the work he has done with Jos Vanstiphout, the Belgian sports pscyhologist most noted for helping Ernie Els realize his full potential.
"Jos came to me at the French and we spoke a little bit every day and this week it helped me a lot," Havret explained.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but