Scottish Open: Levet inspires host of former champions to rediscover best form

Published on Thursday 10 July 2008 22:50

GOLF has a habit of proving that those punters with a liking for the "horses for courses" theory do not have to confine their deliberations to competitors with four legs.

Events at the first round of the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond yesterday made a fascinating, and potentially profitable case, for paying attention to those players who have 'previous' on Tom Weiskopf's glorious creation. In certain cases, the improvement in form would be sufficiently striking to prompt stewards at a racetrack to order an inquiry.

Thomas Levet, winner of the tournament in 2004, had seemed before his return to the lush fairways to be in the grip of decline since his play-off victory in the Andalusian Open four months ago, with only one top-ten finish and two missed cuts in the nine tournaments he has played since.

His resurgence yesterday brought a sparkling 67 which featured four birdies and an eagle (at the par-5 third) putting him into early contention for more success at a venue from which he seems to draw inspiration.

It may be no coincidence that the effervescent Frenchman played in the company of Johan Edfors, the Swede who gained sudden prominence with victory at Loch Lomond two years ago and who, this season, had produced three top-ten finishes, but who had missed the cut in each of his last three outings and four in his last seven.

Like Levet, Edfors carded a four-under par 67, also shooting an eagle at the third and adding two birdies in a bogey-free round that eclipsed anything he had done since securing a tie for 13th at the Irish Open two months ago. Having teed off at 10 o'clock yesterday morning as a juicy 100-1 chance, Edfors by the middle of the afternoon would make those odds look an insult.

Levet's compatriot, Gregory Havret, who beat the world No 2, Phil Mickelson, in a play-off for last year's Scottish title, had begun to look like a one-trick pony in the present season, having made the top 20 only once – tied 15th in the WGC Ca championship – in 20 appearances.

His two-under 69 represented not so much a resurgence as a resurrection, his round featuring four birdies and disfigured only by an ugly double-bogey six at the comparatively uncomplicated fourth hole. Lee Westwood (67) and Colin Montgomerie (69) were other former champions to record sub-par rounds, but perhaps the most emphatic return to form came from Thomas Bjorn.

The Dane, the first winner at Loch Lomond in 1996 when the tournament was known as the World Invitational and runner-up to Retief Goosen in 2001, has been so out of the big-time scene that he could not have been picked up by radar. Five missed cuts, a withdrawal and a tied 48th and tied 21st in his previous eight events suggested that his deterioration was irreversible.

Bjorn celebrated his return to the scene of his first European Tour victory with a four-under 67, an achievement that was the more remarkable for including a double bogey and a bogey (at the 12th and 10th respectively).