NEWS

Havret's summer plans are changing in wake of his U.S. Open showing

By PA Sport
Published on
Havret's summer plans are changing in wake of his U.S. Open showing

Gregory Havret's second-place finish at the U.S. Open has earned him a spot in next month's British Open at St Andrews -- two weeks after he finished almost last in the European qualifier at Sunningdale in England. The Frenchman now looks certain to take one of two places on offer from a European Tour current form money list that ends this coming Sunday. Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher is on course to take the other, but could be overtaken at the BMW International Open in Munich. At Sunningdale, Havret was chasing one of 10 British Open spots, but came in tied for 76th and missed out by 12 shots. Meanwhile, Havret has withdrawn from the BMW International Open. The 33-year-old, who qualified for Pebble Beach only in a sudden death shoot-out at Walton Heath a month ago, flew back to Europe from California on Monday night and decided that fatigue and jet lag called for rest rather than another event straightaway. He and U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, who had already scheduled a week off, will be back in action at next week's French Open in Paris. Havret's withdrawal lets Scotland's former PGA champion Scott Drummond into a field that includes Ernie Els, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia and Sir Nick Faldo. Having entered the British Open in three weeks, Faldo, now 52, is taking a break from his TV commentary work in America to get in some tournament practice. His last European Tour appearance was the British Open last year and he missed the cut for the third time in a row. Havret is the third Frenchman to finish runner-up in a major in recent years. Jean Van de Velde famously triple bogeyed the last and then lost a playoff to Paul Lawrie at Carnoustie in 1999, and eight years ago Thomas Levet took Els to a fifth extra hole before losing at Muirfield.