There was an emotional goodbye on Sunday at the Open de France as Grégory Havret made his final appearance on the DP World Tour after 560 starts.
Of course, much of the focus on the final day at the Open de France was on the top of the leaderboard, with 11 players tied for the lead at one stage on Sunday. It was a remarkable conclusion to the penultimate event in Europe this season.
However, it was also a significant day for the man who finished 61st in the field, as Havret made his final appearance on the DP World Tour after 24 years.
The 47-year-old has been a stalwart of the DP World Tour for nearly a quarter of a century, but was making only his second appearance of the season at Le Golf National. So it was almost remarkable that he managed to even make the cut.
Ross Fisher sends message to Grégory Havret after final appearance on the DP World Tour
Unsurprisingly, there was an amazing reception for Havret as he completed the 18th hole. He came agonisingly close to signing off with a birdie before tapping in for a par, with the fans around the green chanting his name.
It is clear just how popular Havret remains. 2010 Ryder Cup star Ross Fisher was amongst those to react to his retirement on social media after his final round this weekend…
The Frenchman revealed his career highlight
For golf fans of a certain age, it may be surprising to see Havret’s DP World Tour career ended with just three wins. He beat Phil Mickelson in a play-off at the 2007 Scottish Open, while he finished second to Graeme McDowell at Pebble Beach at the 2010 US Open – the only top 10 Havret had at a major championship.
Havret was asked after his final round what the highlight from his DP World Tour career had been, and he suggested that he would struggle to separate what happened at the US Open and at Loch Lomond three years earlier.
“I’m always in between the win in Scotland against Mickelson obviously, Scottish Open, because you have the trophy in the end,” he said.
“And of course, the second spot at U.S. Open in 2010 was something playing with Tiger at Pebble Beach. But I would say the U.S. Open one because this is the last round my father saw me playing. It’s obviously something, he passed away a few months later, and having him, this memory, Tiger Woods, Pebble Beach, having a chance, six-foot on the last to force the playoff maybe was something. So yeah, I would say that day was the one.”
Given some of the scoring over the week at Le Golf National, you would imagine that signing off with a respectable finish in his national open on his final appearance on the DP World Tour has gone straight in near the top of the career highlights for Havret.
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