Grégory Havret is determined to make a strong start to the European Challenge Tour season after the winter break as he embarks on his 20th season as a professional at the Turkish Airlines Challenge.
The Frenchman joined the paid ranks in 1999, and after losing his European Tour card last year is eager to return to the world stage where he has three wins to his name. He won in consecutive campaigns in 2007 and 2008, both on Scottish soil, having clinched his debut European Tour title at the 2001 Atlanet Italian Open.
Losing his European Tour playing privileges has not deterred the 42-year-old, in fact, it has spurred him to develop his game and prepare for a strong start to the Challenge Tour campaign.
After 18 successive years on the European Tour, Havret was able to enjoy the break between the end of the season and the beginning of a new chapter in his career on the Challenge Tour.
“I am looking forward to starting my season in Turkey, but I really enjoyed the last four months with my family at home,” he said.
“For once I have been able to come home and be with the family and have been able to practise and work on parts of my game. It has given me time to change any technical problems with my coach without being in a rush.
“My coach wanted to work with me on changing a few things, but I never used to have the time, but with the break I’ve been able to go and do that with my coach. When I was playing poorly during those practice days, I wasn’t worried because I knew I had eight weeks in front of me to work and spend time on the range.
“For 18 years I was on the European Tour and there aren’t any big breaks during the season because you finish in December and then the new season starts very quickly. Whereas the Challenge Tour is totally different because there aren’t any tournaments from the end of October until now, which is a long time, but I have enjoyed that.”
Havret celebrates 500 European Tour appearances at last year's Italian Open
The 2007 Barclays Scottish Open winner who defeated then World Number Three Phil Mickelson in a play-off for the title has his goals set on further success at the end of the season with a place inside the top 15 on the Challenge Tour Rankings to graduate to the European Tour. However, he could have chosen a different path at the end of a difficult 2018.
“When I missed out at Q-School last year I was thinking of a few choices,” he said. “Option one was I continue playing on the European Tour with my small category and with invites ahead of Q-School at the end of the year.
“My second option was to play a full season on the Challenge Tour not in between European Tour events because I wanted to focus on one tour not two. The third option was to stop because after 18 years on tour I could have said ‘okay, I’ve done the job properly, now it’s time to do something else’, but I really want to continue playing golf and the Challenge Tour is the best way to get back on the European Tour if I play well.
“I took that decision and my goal is to finish inside the top 15 or at least have a good year to have a good category for the European Tour next year.”
Havret’s Challenge Tour journey begins this week and he has his eyes set on a fast start, where the opening events could set the tone for his season with a three week stretch to get the Frenchman up and running.
“When you’ve been away from tournaments for a long time you don’t want to miss your first cut,” he said.
“I had a bad year last year and I’ve come back to the Challenge Tour and I want to start well. I’m really looking forward to playing in Turkey, and then in Spain and Prague, because those three weeks are very important if you are going to start the season well.”
