Havret defeats Mickelson in Scottish Open playoff
BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2007 Scottish Open | Round Four | 16 Jul 2007
Despite being the 320th ranked player in the world, Frenchman Gregory Havret has put together several very good finishes of late and today that improvement was further confirmed when he beat the world number three Phil Mickelson in a playoff for the Barclays Scottish Open.
A par at the first extra hole was good enough to defeat Mickelson after the American had driven it in the hazard left of the fairway. Havret had to save par from the greenside bunker but he had done enough to win his second European Tour event, six years after his first in Italy in 2001.
Mickelson had bogeyed the final hole in regulation play also after a rollercoaster ride over the final few holes of his tournament where he followed a birdie with a bogey on three occasions in the last six holes. Havret however was rock solid over the same stretch, picking up birdies at the 13th and 14th holes before holding on over the final four holes to join Mickelson in a playoff after the American had stumbled at the last.
Havret has signalled in recent weeks that this win was looming, especially with his third placing at the European Open last week in Ireland but there have been other good weeks also of late including a 15th in France. To win at this level however and against such a significant opponent as Mickelson has taken him to a new standing in the game.
The other benefit from the victory in addition to the huge first prize of €738,000 is that Havret will now gain a start at the Open Championship and will arrive at Carnoustie for his first ever Open Championship with a great mindset.
So too will Phil Mickelson despite the loss in the playoff. Mickelson’s recent injury woes have been well documented but he appears to be back close to the form he was in prior to his wrist injury forced his withdrawal from the Memorial tournament and he heads to Carnoustie with his chances of Open Championship glory much improved on what they were a week ago.
Mickelson has often been criticised for not playing enough internationally, in fact his only win outside of the US was in an obscure event in France in 1993. He has chosen to use the Scottish Open as a lead in to the Open in recent years and benefited with his best ever finish at the Open when third in 2004. A win on the Links layout of Carnoustie will be a far different proposition than the parkland style golf course of Loch Lomond but he has his game in good shape and appears injury free.
Another who improved his chances for next week was Ernie Els whose last round of 65 gave his supporters a lot to look forward to at Carnoustie. Els has not been at his peak in 2007 but has not played badly either. This good finish tops him off in terms of his chances for the big one this week.
Luke Donald also finished off his preparations for the Open with a brilliant final round of 64 and appears well and truly back on track after being married a few weeks ago. Donald shared fourth with Pelle Edberg, Louis Oosthuizen and a very much inform Richard Sterne.
The best of the Australians, in what was a very ordinary week for them, was Matthew Millar who was 57th while Peter O’Malley and Wade Ormsby were 60th.
