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.
MEDVEDEV AWAITS: The world No. 1 Spainiard said that he is ‘finding the right shots’ as he pushed his record so far this year to 16 victories and no losses Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday extended his unbeaten season and got revenge over Cameron Norrie to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells for a fifth straight year. The world No. 1 from Spain emerged from a see-saw battle with 29th-ranked Norrie with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the semis tomorrow, he faces Russian Daniil Medvedev, who pushed his own ATP winning streak to eight matches with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over defending champion Jack Draper. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner powered past Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2 to line up a semi-final with fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Arthur Fils. Alcaraz, 22, became
Ollie Watkins’ second-half header on Thursday gave Aston Villa a 1-0 win over Lille OSC in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round-of-16 tie. Just past the hour mark, Ezri Konsa sent a deep pass that Emi Buendia headed to Watkins in the home team’s box. The England forward noticed goalkeeper Berke Ozer was off his line before sending a looping header over him and into the net. Minutes later, Watkins wasted a chance to double the advantage when he failed to score in a one-on-one with the ’keeper. Nottingham Forest were stunned 1-0 by Danish club Midtjylland, with substitute Cho
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether the US really want to win badly enough for the reprieve to matter, as if it is just a switch they can flick, but there is little reason for their fans to be optimistic. The team’s attitude and behavior have been all over the place when
Brice Turang and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s consecutive RBI singles proved to be the difference in the US’ 5-3 win over Canada in a World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarterfinal on Friday night in Houston. The US faces the Dominican Republic, which crushed South Korea 10-0 in seven innings in its quarter-final, in a semifinal Sunday in Miami for a spot in Tuesday’s championship. The Dominican team has won all five games in this WBC by a combined margin of 51-10. It appeared the US squad was headed toward a cozy victory when it built a 5-0 lead by the sixth inning. A first-inning RBI groundout
RSS