Havret wins amidst Ryder Cup debate
BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2008 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles | Round Four | 01 Sep 2008
Frenchman, Gregory Havret, has added yet another significant Scottish title to his resume with a narrow one shot victory over Graeme Storm at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
14 months ago, Havret defeated Phil Mickelson in a playoff to win the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and his love affair with Scotland continued today when he converted a one shot third round lead into his third European Tour title. The finish may not have been quite as tight as that at Loch Lomond but it was no less demanding.
Havret’s grip on the tournament seemed tentative early when he dropped shots at the 3rd and 5th holes but an eagle at the 9th had him back in the lead. Storm took the lead back off Havret when he birdied five of his first seven holes on the back nine but Havret’s strong response and a bogey at the 17th by Storm was the difference in the end.
Swede, Peter Hanson, moved into a challenging position when he birdied six of the first twelve holes on day four but he was unable to make any further progress and finished at 11 under and in a share of third with David Howell. Howell provided further evidence that he is well and truly on the road back to the heights he has previously reached in the game.
Justin Rose confirmed his automatic position on the European Ryder Cup team when he finished in a share of 5th with Germany’s Marcel Siem.
The one remaining automatic Ryder Cup position went to Oliver Wilson who finished in a share of 10th, a strong back nine of 34 ensuring he would make his Ryder Cup debut in three weeks time.
That left the stage to Nick Faldo who soon after the final round became the focus of attention when he announced his two Captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup. In a perhaps controversial decision he named Paul Casey and Ian Poulter to complete the team to take on the Americans in Kentucky on September 19th.
Both Casey and Poulter missed the cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship but Faldo placed a lot of emphasis on the runner up finish of Poulter’s at the Open Championship and the improved putting form of Casey in recent weeks.
Casey’s inclusion appears accepted by most but there is a strong feeling by many that Darren Clarke’s late push for a place on the team should have been rewarded. Clarke let himself down by a disappointing follow up to his win last week when 44th at Gleneagles as there is little doubt that a win this week or even a top ten finish might have forced Faldo’s hand.
Poulter has a chance to put the doubters at ease in three weeks time but there is a feeling that there was a certain inevitability in Poulter’s selection irrespective of whatever had happened this week. Poulter’s best finish and his only top ten in 2008, other than his outstanding runner up finish at Royal Birkdale, was when 9th in Abu Dhabi.
Michael Campbell was the best of the Australasians this week when 10th which follows an 8th place finish at the KLM Open last week. Given his record in the past 18 months this is a significant turnaround for the New Zealander. A confidence player at the best of times, it would not surprise to see Campbell back contending for a title before long, which a month ago seemed almost impossible to imagine.
Gareth Paddison was 26th, Peter O’Malley 44th, Mark Brown 49th, while Peter Fowler, Matthew Millar and Marcus Fraser finished 56th.
The European Tour now plays the Omega European Masters in Crans Sur Sierre in Switzerland.
