Havret goes into final round in Gleneagles with one shot lead
Saturday, 30 Aug 2008 19:53
Nick Dougherty still fighting for a Ryder Cup place
Frenchmen Gregory Havret continued to dominate at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles as players continued to battle for Ryder Cup places.
Havret had an eventful round which saw him hit four birdies, a bogey and a double bogey in the last nine holes. But a birdie in the last hole helped him finish on 11-under-par and get a one shot lead over Englishman Anthony Wall.
As for the Ryder Cup places, Soren Hansen and Justin Rose all but ensured their place in Valhalla with solid third round performances. Hansen ended the round in third place on nine-under-par with Rose a further shot back.
Oliver Wilson, who occupies the tenth and final automatic place, faces a fight with Nick Dougherty for a Ryder Cup berth.
Dougherty is on five-under-par and needs to finish in either first or second place at Gleneagles in order to overtake Wilson, who will grab the final place if he finishes in the top 27.
"I'm enjoying the challenge and I'm delighted to still have a sniff," said 26-year-old Dougherty. "Ollie's favourite, but I'll see if I can make him sweat a bit.
"It's a big day. The culmination of a year's worth of golf comes down to one day. I played wonderfully today and made nothing. The longest putt was the five-footer on the last."
Ryder Cup wildcard hopefuls Darren Clarke (one-under) and Colin Montgomerie (one-over) have one more round to try and impress captain Nick Faldo.