Jean van de Velde (golfer)


Jean van de Velde is a French professional golfer. He was born in Mont-de-Marsan, Landes, France. van de Velde 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 came close to winning The Open Championship in 1999, but lost a three shot lead on the final hole. He played on the PGA Tour in 2000 and 2001.

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 previous rounds.
Van de Velde chose to use his driver off the tee, and he drove the ball to the right of the burn, where he 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 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 then hit his fifth shot into the greenside bunker. Van de Velde shot 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 won in the playoff.

Later career

In the new millennium, Van de Velde was troubled by injuries for several years, but he made a 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
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11993Roma Masters Greg TurnerWon with par on third extra hole
21999The Open Championship Paul Lawrie, Justin LeonardLawrie won four-hole aggregate playoff;
Lawrie: E,
Leonard: +3,
van de Velde: +3
32005Open de France Jean-François RemésyLost to double-bogey on first extra hole

Other wins (5)

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11999The Open Championship Paul Lawrie, Justin LeonardLawrie won four-hole aggregate playoff;
Lawrie: E,
Leonard: +3,
van de Velde: +3
22000Reno–Tahoe Open Scott VerplankLost to birdie on fourth extra hole

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

CUT = missed the halfway cut

Results in World Golf Championships

1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Team appearances

Amateur
Professional