Just before going into the final round at the 2010 US Open, Gregory Havret updated his facebook status: "merci a tous.. sincerement, je ne sais pas trop a quoi m attendre, ce qui est sur c est que je me donnerai comme jamais jusqu au dernier shot, j espere vs faire vibrer autant que je vibre!! bises"
In other words;
"Thank you everyone. I don't really know what to expect, but what I do know, for sure, is that I'm going to give it everything I've got till the last shot. I hope I'll make this as exciting for you as it is for me."
Oh, and, "kisses". He added "kisses" which probably seems odd to the average American but.. cultural nuance... not to a Frenchman.
At that point Greg was getting ready to meet Tiger Woods, his playing partner for the final round. There were words of encouragement from Facebook friends with whimsical French names: "Aller Greg!" and "Vas y Greg ! On est avec toi!!" ... and one from me: "Go Greg!!!!" (very creative, I know) ~ And ultimately, Greg delivered brilliantly on the promised excitement.
Dustin Johnson... who held the lead going into the final round and had the kind of youth, cool and Pebble-Beach-pedigree that made him a "sure bet" prediction for many... floundered. Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Tiger Woods struggled valiantly but just couldn't put it all together. And so it was that Gregory Havret... who qualified for his first US Open with a 50 foot putt in a playoff... found himself the lone challenger to Graeme McDowell on the final hole. Alas his final putt for birdie came up short which left McDowell needing only par to win. And ultimately ultimately did.
But for Gregory Havret the experience was certainly inoubliable as in, unforgettable, and though a part of his heart is surely broken to have come so close, in world golf rankings he rocketed from No. 391 to 104th overall he must be very happy.
There's a huge potential for golf to grow in France, with the sport's inclusion in the Olympics, and with France bidding for the 2018 Ryder Cup. At Pebble Beach yesterday, Gregory did his part, prodigiously, to advance the cause. ~ I for one, hope we see more of him here in the future.
Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images North America)
Terrific interview after what had to be a disappointing putt at 18 on Sunday. Seems like another guy you'd like to hang out with - a lot like Van de Velde in personality. Hope he continues this great play.
ReplyDeleteCould've done without Johnny Miller calling him "Har-vay". (lol)
YOU are so awesome to post this story!! It was so great to see his energy out there...European energy is so different from American...thanks for his fb message ;-) AND his interview afterwords was so wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI grew up with a family home in France and it's so refreshing to see the French and the Italian on tour.
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ReplyDeletedoes anyone here know, without googling !, what a BIARITZ hole is all about ?
also, there is much history of wealthy vacationing american sporting industrialists and titans being inpressed with golf in france early on
golf, to some extent, came to america from scotland through france
frankD
ft liquordale
Not without googling Frank... but I googled it and now I know. And I hope I never encounter one. ;)
ReplyDeleteUS Opens are famous for their little known winners and famous for confounding the expected champions. This one was no exception.
ReplyDeleteGregory Havret is really amazing. He made his way among all Pebble Beach players. Nobody saw him coming and, even when he was 4th, he wasn't "eligible" for the winning. So he had less pression and he nearly won it. Tricky greens, as Tiger said on the first day. Bravo Greg ! Et merci de nous avoir fait vibrer.
ReplyDeleteLaurence (www.lesgolfeuses.com)
French people are the best.
ReplyDelete