Full name Jean Van de Velde Name Jean de Professional wins 7 U.S. Open T45: 2002 European tour 2 | Masters Tournament T19: 2000 Height 1.80 m Nationality France Role Golfer Turned professional 1987 | |
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Residence Dubai, United Arab Emirates Children Alexandra (b. 1992)Anne Sophie (b. 1997)Hugo (b. 2005)Louie (b. 2008) Former tours PGA European Tour, PGA TOUR | ||
Jean van de velde golf collapse 1999 open at carnoustie
Jean van de Velde (born 29 May 1966) is a French professional golfer who is known mainly for his dramatic loss at The Open Championship in 1999.
Contents
- Jean van de velde golf collapse 1999 open at carnoustie
- 1999 british open jean van de velde and the 18th hole bbc
- 1999 Open Championship
- Later career
- Amateur wins 3
- European Tour wins 2
- Other wins 4
- Results in major championships
- Summary
- Team appearances
- Trivia
- References
Van de Velde was born in Mont-de-Marsan, Landes, France. He turned professional in 1987 and his rookie season on the European Tour was 1989. His first European Tour win was the 1993 Roma Masters. He has twice finished in the top twenty of the Order of Merit. He played on the PGA Tour in 2000 and 2001.
1999 british open jean van de velde and the 18th hole bbc
1999 Open Championship
Van de Velde nearly achieved an upset victory at the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie, when he was the clear leader playing the closing holes. He arrived at the 18th tee needing only a double bogey six to become the first Frenchman since 1907 to win a major tournament. He had played error-free golf for much of the week and birdied the 18th hole in two prior rounds.
Despite a three-shot lead, Van de Velde chose to use his driver off the tee, and proceeded to drive the ball to the right of the burn and was lucky to find land. Rather than laying up and hitting the green with his third, Van de Velde decided to go for the green with his second shot. His shot drifted right, ricocheted backwards off the railings of the grandstands by the side of the green, landed on top of the stone wall of the Barry Burn and then bounced fifty yards backwards into knee-deep rough.
On his third shot, Van de Velde's club got tangled in the rough on his downswing, and his ball flew into the Barry Burn, a water hazard. He removed his shoes and socks and gingerly stepped through shin-deep water as he debated whether to try to hit his ball out of the Barry Burn, which guards the 18th green. Ultimately, he took a drop and proceeded to hit his fifth shot into the greenside bunker. Van de Velde blasted to within six feet from the hole, and made the putt for a triple-bogey seven, dropping him into a three-way playoff with Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie. Lawrie would eventually triumph in the playoff.
Later career
In the new millennium, Van de Velde was troubled by injuries for several years, but he made a dramatic comeback at the 2005 Open de France, where he lost a playoff to fellow Frenchman Jean-François Remésy (after, once again, finding water on the last hole). In 2006, he won his second European Tour title at the Madeira Island Open Caixa Geral de Depositos.
In 2012 he was named by UNICEF France as an ambassador – only the second French sportsman, after Lilian Thuram, to achieve this.
Amateur wins (3)
European Tour wins (2)
European Tour playoff record (1–2)
Other wins (4)
Results in major championships
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Summary
Team appearances
Amateur
Professional
Trivia
Van de Velde made light of his 1999 Open collapse in a humorous Never Compromise infomercial in which he replayed Carnoustie's 18th hole in the dead of winter with only the company's brand putter in an attempt to best the seven strokes that cost him the championship. He succeeded on his third attempt.