Havret: Pals gave me bubbly bath then I went off to dance in moonlight

Jul 6 2008 Euan Mclean

WHETHER it was lingering adrenalin or just the champagne he's not sure but whatever was coursing through Gregory Havret's veins just wouldn't let him sleep.

Two in the morning - eight hours since he'd dug deeper than ever to stare down the mighty Phil Mickelson and win the Barclays Scottish Open - and here he was. Alone at last.

Inside the luxurious lochside cottage provided as an extra perk for the newly-crowned champion was every mod con a man could ask for, but the restlessness swirling inside him was pulling Havret outside.

And it was there, wandering the moonlit fairways of Loch Lomond Golf Club, that he was finally able to breathe it all in and fully appreciate the scale of his achievement.

The Frenchman said: "That night after I won will live forever in my mind. I was staying in a lodge on the eighth tee - a gorgeous place and it was great that the club invited me to spend the evening there.

"By the time I'd finished calling my friends and family it was about 2am. I was tired, especially after the pressure I'd been under during the play-off, but I decided not to go to sleep because I wanted to enjoy the moment some more.

"So I went out and walked on the course alone for an hour. It was dark but it was a lovely night so the moon and stars made it light enough to see where I was going.

"The clubhouse was beautifully lit up behind me as I walked along the lochside down the seventh and sixth holes and it felt great. That was the best moment.

"It was a chance for me to enjoy the performance alone. I like to be with friends and family drinking champagne but I have to say I enjoyed it more alone.

"It was terrific to be on the course where I won and with it being such a beautiful quiet place on a perfect night was a great moment I will always cherish."

Havret can expect his next walk along the bonny banks to be a bit busier when he returns to defend his title this week in front of crowds set to break the 80,000 mark yet again.

The 31-year-old is well aware that with the honour of returning as champion comes an extra pressure to live up to the title but he has every justification for saying he can handle that.

Because there isn't much you can't cope with after you've taken one of the best players in the world down the final stretch and come out the other end smiling.

Mickelsonwas ranked third in theworld and leading by a shot when Havret, 317 places further down the ratings, teed up beside him for the final round.

Over the next 18 holes the two-time US Masters champion had to fend off charges from Luke Donald and Ernie Els but in the end it was his unheralded playing partner who hung in there right to the last tee.

Where it all proceeded to turn on its head. Mickelson just needed par to close out the tournament but pulled his tee shot on the 72nd hole, splashed into the loch and then rescued a bogey and a return to that fateful tee for another go in the play-off.

Havret remembers no sense of inferiority stepping on to the play-off hole, only belief that Mickelson's kamikaze driving would hand him his big chance.

And so it proved as the US star managed to only just clear the water with another horrible hooked drive that buried in thick grass on the bank.

Havret said: "The thing was with me who hung in there right to the last tee. Where it all proceeded to turn on its head.

Mickelson just needed par to close out the tournament but pulled his tee shot on the 72nd hole, splashed into the loch and then rescued a bogey and a return to that fateful tee for another go in the play-off.

Havret remembers no sense of inferiority stepping on to the play-off hole, only belief that Mickelson's kamikaze driving would hand him his big chance.

And so it proved as the US star managed to only just clear the water with another horrible hooked drive that buried in thick grass on the bank.

Havret said: "The thing was with me driving well and Phil driving badly, I knew 18 would be better for me than for him.

"That hole demands a good tee shot to have a chance with your approach and he'd been shaky in that department all day.

"In the play-off he had the honour which was a good thing for me because when he pushed it again it gave me a boost.

"I just did what I had been doing all week, hit a good drive and that held the key to winning."

Within just seconds of rolling home the winning putt from five feet Havret was doused in champagne by countrymen Raphael Jacqueline and previous Barclays Scottish Open champion Thomas Levet. A heartfelt gesture between close friends but the irony wasn't lost on Havret considering the misery he felt when Levet took the title back in 2004.

Gregory explained: "Thomas knows what it means to win this tournament and we talked about it at dinner that night.

"When he won three years earlier I had been leading the tournament after three rounds but had a disappointing 74 on the final day and finished 10th.

"So while I was pleased for Thomas I felt bad and it was a tough learning experience for me - but what a revenge to come back three years later and win!

"That victory came just in time because before Loch Lomond I was going through a period when I was doubting myself.

"My game wasn't awful but after seven seasons on tour and just one win back inmy first year I had started to wonder if I would ever be good enough to achieve something.

"It's tough when you can't put your finger on what's wrong and I was starting to despair.

"Then Loch Lomond came and now I know I can do it and the next win can be just around the corner.

"Becoming champion of a big event like the Barclays Scottish Open has been good to me in terms of my progress. Even though I have not had many top 10s since then I have played more consistently and my game is solid.

"The significance of beating a top player like Mickelson didn't seem so big to me at the time but in the weeks and months since then I have looked back and realised what an achievement it was.

"It has helped me beat away any negative thoughts that can sometimes creep into your mind when you are out on the course because of the strength it gives to know you have beaten Phil Mickelson. "It has made me stronger by proving to myself what I am capable of.

"I look back on it now and say that was a job well done."