Sport

Havret survives 'tough day' to claim second tour win on Scottish soil

DIGEST/ EUROPEAN TOUR : Gregory Havret described it as a "tough day" after getting up and down from the bunker at 18 to sneak…

Mon Sept 01 2008 - 01:00

DIGEST/ EUROPEAN TOUR: Gregory Havret described it as a "tough day" after getting up and down from the bunker at 18 to sneak victory in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

Havret won by a shot from Graeme Storm after a round of 70 gave him a 14-under-par total of 278. It was Havret's second victory on Scottish soil, after he won the 2007 Scottish Open after a tense play-off against Phil Mickelson.

The Frenchman birdied the second but dropped shots at the third and fifth as he looked to complete a wall-to-wall victory.

An eagle at the par five ninth and a birdie at 14 saw him reclaim the lead after the earlier players had moved ahead of him.

READ MORE

At the 15th Havret must have feared the worst when his second shot found the bunker. But he chipped to 12 feet and holed a steady putt to save par. A birdie at the par five 16th put Havret back in the lead and he was just two pars away from victory.

The 17th was successfully negotiated and the title looked his after two safety-first shots at the par five 18th. But he shanked his third shot into the greenside bunker and he could only splash out to 10 feet. Sure enough he holed a testing putt to avoid a play-off.

Paul McGinley shot 72 for a final total of 287, while Darren Clarke shot 74 for 292.

SENIORS TOUR: England's Gordon J Brand saw his rich run of form continue when he closed with a two-under-par 70 to win his second European Seniors Tour title in the space of seven days at the Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters at Woburn Golf Club.

The previous weekend Brand needed six extra holes to see off the challenge of Gordon Brand Jnr at the De Vere PGA Seniors Championship at Slaley Hall but this time he birdied the first to move in front and then recorded further birdies on the fourth, ninth, 11th and 18th to finish two shots in front of Spain's Juan Quiros and three ahead of defending champion Carl Mason on nine-under-par 207.

Eamonn Darcy tied for fifth place on 215 after a final round 75, with Denis O'Sullivan on 226 after a 76.

CHALLENGE TOUR: Finland's Antti Ahokas claimed his second win of the season after a dramatic climax to the ECCO Tour Championship saw him hole a four-foot putt when his hopes of victory had appeared dead and buried with two holes to play.

Dutchman Wil Besseling had a two-stroke lead going into the 18th but four-putted for a double bogey six to leave overnight leader Ahokas to battle it out with compatriot Roope Kakko for the title in the final group.

Kakko then missed a crucial five foot par putt while Ahokas, who had birdied the 17th to drag himself back into the contest, held his nerve to sink the winning putt and land the € 28,800 first prize. Colm Moriarty shot 68 for 277.

LET TOUR: Finland's Minea Blomqvist claimed a one-stroke victory at the Finnair Masters in Helsinki, defeating her compatriot Ursula Wikstrom on home soil.

The Finnish pair, who began the last day tied for the lead with Italian Diana Luna, delighted the galleries with a mouthwatering final round battle.

Blomqvist edged Wikstrom with a final hole birdie for a round of six-under-par 65 and a 54-hole total of 11-under-par 202. Wikstrom, who also birdied the last hole, shot a five-under 65 to finish on 10-under-par.

Martina Gillen added a final round 72 for a five-over-par total of 218, Rebecca Coakley was a shot further back after a 74, while Hazel Kavanagh also shot 74 to finish on seven-over-par 220.