Mickelson falters, but Havret holds nerve to win play-off

CELEBRATING his Barclays Scottish Open play-off win over Phil Mickelson yesterday in a fine mist of champagne, Gregory Havret had plenty to feel exhilarated about as he collected a cheque for £500,000 and earned the last qualifying spot for the Open. On the best day of Havret's career, compatriots Raphael Jacquelin and Thomas Levet seized the moment on the 18th green by soaking their friend's shirt with bottles of Laurent Perrier.

Ranked 320th in the world compared to Mickelson's third, Havret's victory at Loch Lomond was a David-and-Goliath effort on a day when his golfing dreams all came true. Apart from winning the French Open, Havret could not think of another title he had wanted to win more than the Scottish Open.

After finishing 15th in his own national championship and third behind Colin Montgomerie at the K Club, this traditionalist relished success at the home of golf. Even the skirl of the bagpipes at the presentation was sweet music to his ears. "I'm a lover of tradition and this is a home of tradition," Havret said. "It's amazing to play golf here and Loch Lomond is awesome. I don't have enough English to express what it means to me."

As befits such a fine championship, a record number of spectators - 84,429 - paid to watch arguably the smoothest staging yet of the Scottish Open. And the largest single-day attendance of 22,431 were on hand yesterday to applaud Havret and endorse an 'Auld Alliance' between Scotland and France which dates back to the 13th century.

Although he asked Mickelson for a signed glove to give to charity, Havret was anything but starstruck in the American's company as he produced an unflappable 68 for 270, 14-under par. Enjoying a rich seam of form, he attributed his summer renaissance partly to the belly putter, which he put in his bag at Le Golf National, and partly to the wise words of sports psychologist Jos Vanstiphout, who started working with him a few weeks ago.

Mickelson started with a one-shot advantage over Havret and maintained his edge over the front nine when both men reached the turn in 34. Events favoured the American when Havret dropped a shot at the tenth. When both men birdied the par-5 13th, the bookmakers made Mickelson an unseemly 1/25 to win his first European Tour title. Nothing in golf is certain, though, and there followed a two-shot swing on the 14th, which changed the outcome of the event. Mickelson fluffed a pitch from the rough and took 5, while Havret holed a long putt for birdie. Now it was nip and tuck.

Although Mickelson carded 69 for 270, the three-time major winner did not control his drives as he would have wished - a fortunate free drop on the ninth ensured a birdie on a hole he might otherwise have bogeyed - and ran up three bogeys under duress over the closing five holes. He missed drives left on the 16th and right on the 18th, failing to find the green from the rough and chipping past the hole from below the putting surface.

True, there were also terrific putts for birdies on the 15th and 17th holes, but the suspicion that errant driving would cost the American, as it did on the last hole of the 2006 US Open at Winged Foot, was justified when Mickelson made a mess of the tee shot at the first extra hole. Fortunate not to find the water with a pushed drive, he hacked out from the long grass and located the fairway. Surprisingly, with a chance to redeem the situation, his wedge shot floated past the flag and refused to spin back from the semi-rough. He took two putts for five.

"I blocked the drive left and hit a good shot out of the swamp," Mickelson recalled. "I had a chance, but my third shot was way too hard."

Havret, meantime, split the fairway at the first extra hole before pushing his second into a greenside bunker. The sand wedge to five feet was nicely judged and he used his belly putter to hole a five footer for the biggest pay day of his career.

While Havret can float through his Open debut at Carnoustie, Mickelson has much to do with Butch Harmon to get his swing back under control.

"I really struggled off the tee, and the back nine was a fight for me," he said. "I played very erratic golf and made birdies and bogeys, while Gregory was much more consistent. He hit fairways and greens and not only did he deserve to win, he made himself very tough to beat."

On a warm, bright afternoon, the tournament burst into life when a resurgent Ernie Els applied serious pressure to the Frenchman and the left-hander in the final group. The South African went on to make 11 3s in the course of 65 for 271. Home in 31, the former champion would have finished even closer to the winner, but for a dropped shot at the 16th.

Highlights of his round included the 5 iron, which set up an eagle on the 13th and the 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th green. Els was at ease with his square-headed driver and believes he is taking some form to Carnoustie. "It's the toughest links we play and I'll be working on my short game," he said.

Continuing a strong run of performances at Loch Lomond, Luke Donald claimed a share of fourth with a closing 64, which was decorated with eight birdies and marred by just one dropped shot on the 11th.

After time off for his honeymoon, the young Englishman was thrilled to find a bit of form on a course he likes. His coach arrived from America and a practice session before the final round made all the difference. "I hit a lot of very good iron shots and left myself six to eight footers for birdies," Donald said. "It was one of my better rounds of the year."

Having begun the tournament by warning that he might not return to the Scottish Open unless he also performs to a high standard in the Open, Donald's latest surge at Loch Lomond will give him food for thought.

"The Open is high on my list of priorities," said the man with five missed cuts at the oldest major on his CV. "It's a different type of golf and maybe the key is to practice on a links the week before. I don't know. There's also no doubt I would love to play at Loch Lomond every year because it's one of my favourite courses and I've always played well here.

"It has a great field and every time I tee off here I expect to do well. It would be a very hard decision for me to make not to come here."

Low-ball flight and trajectory control are key elements to success on a windy links, and Donald will have to master those technical issues as well as recalling from his experience of partnering Paul Lawrie for 36 holes in 1999 as an amateur. "I remember he played nicely, without being really up there - I don't know how many shots he was behind," Donald said. "Paul played superbly on Sunday and, in a way, his success gave me a lot of hope. I thought if he could do that then so could I."

Ian Poulter, 67 for 274, clambered into the top ten, while Lee Westwood, 69 for 278, was sufficiently encouraged by his putting to feel he can compete at Carnoustie. Unlike Tiger Woods, who prefers to practice at dawn, Westwood was planning a lie-in this morning. He believes the links is at its most challenging when the afternoon wind blows and wants to face the monster at its worst.