The Johnnie Walker Classic was billed as the shoot-out for the final Ryder Cup places, but it was one of forgotten men of this season’s qualifying campaign who gatecrashed the leaderboard.

Weybridge-based David Howell is still StrokeAverage.com’s most successful golfing client to date having become the first European Tour golfer to use the company’s consultancy services to identify the areas of his game he needed to work on to climb the Official World Rankings and become a regular winner.

After two seasons disrupted by injury and poor form resulting from his back problems, David Howell got in the mix for the second time this season in the Scottish glens.

While everyone else’s minds were focused on the Ryder Cup points table and the forthcoming announcement of Nick Faldo’s two wildcard picks, the 2006 BMW PGA Champion set about reeling in overnight leader Gregory Havret after a slow start.

The 33-year-old, who started the day down the leaderboard, dropped a shot at the seventh but made four at the short par five 12th and ended the golf tournament with back-to-back birdies to move up into third place, finally finishing three shots behind the Frenchman.

While Graeme Storm had looked most likely to deny Gregory Havret his second Scottish victory in little over a year - after his shock play-off win over Phil Mickelson at Loch Lomond.

Graeme Storm made four birdies in a row around the turn, and moved into the lead after making two more at the 15th and 16th.

But a bogey four at the next checked his momentum while Gregory Havret recovered from dropped shots of his own at the third and fifth with an eagle three at the ninth, before regaining the lead thanks to a four at the 16th.

Not even a four at the par five last could get Hartlepool’s former British Amateur Champion into a play-off as his five-under par 68 fell one shot shy as Gregory Havret came home with a 70.

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