Thomas Levet has won the Royal Bank of Scotland Shot of the Month for July. The Frenchman won the hotly contested award for his sublime approach to the 72nd hole in The Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond Golf Club.
Levet, who wins the Royal Bank of Scotland Shot of the Month Trophy and £1000 to donate to a charity of his choice, needed a birdie three at the tough 18th to complete an astonishing final round of eight under par 63 under intense pressure.
It had been Levet’’s intention to take a three wood from the tee and play safe around the Loch, but in the heat of competition he knew had no option but to take the driver and aim straight over the stretch of water to the distant fairway beyond. His bravery was rewarded with one of the tee shots of the day, but it still left a demanding shot to a tough pin placement.
With the yardage perfect for a eight iron, Levet took dead aim and struck a beautiful approach shot to three feet above the pin to set up a brilliant birdie three to secure the title.
"I knew that Michael Campbell was challenging the lead and really need to make birdie to put pressure on him,” said Levet. “I had no other option than to go straight at the pin. It was a perfect eight iron and as soon as I hit it, I knew it was not far from the pin. It was a very important shot and the only one which could have given me a birdie. It was certainly one of the best shots of my career and one of the few you remember all your life. It capped a great day and I’’m delighted it has been recognised with this award.”
Englishman Luke Donald took second place for the July award with his fantastic eagle two during the third round of the Scandinavian Masters presented by Carlsberg at the 13th hole of the Barsebäck Golf & Country Club, Malmö, Sweden.
In third place was the 2003 Volvo Order of Merit winner Ernie Els of South Africa for his wonderful recovery shot at the 11th hole at Royal Troon during that epic final day of the 133rd Open Golf Championship.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Shot of the Month Award, in association with The European Tour, Sky Sports and Golf Weekly, is presented to the Tour Member for the shot judged to be the most outstanding played during each calendar month on The European Tour International Schedule. In November 2004, the winning shots from each month will be entered towards The Royal Bank of Scotland Shot of the Year Award.
Previous winners during the 2004 season have been Trevor Immelman of South Africa (December/January), Thailand’’s Thongchai Jaidee (February), Colin Montgomerie of Scotland (March), Northern Ireland’’s Graeme McDowell (April), England’’s Barry Lane (May) and South Africa’’s Retief Goosen (June.)
