Winning a major championship is one of the hardest things to do in golf so when you come within touching distance of landing one of golf’s most famous trophies before throwing it away, it’s going to sting even more.
Unfortunately for French golfer Jean van de Velde, that’s exactly what happened.
With The Open Championship set to take place at Royal Portrush next week, there’ll be plenty of trips down memory lane in the build up.
However, when it comes to looking back at those players who nearly wrote their names into history, it’s hard to get away from the story of Jean van de Velde.
How Jean van de Velde handed Paul Lawrie the 1999 Open
There are always winners and losers in golf and over the years, we’ve seen some of the most heart-breaking near misses.
Indeed, we only have to look to the Travelers a few weeks ago and Tommy Fleetwood for what despair looks like on the golf course.
However, little can compare to what Van de Velde went through in 1999.
Remarkably, the French golfer led by three shots as he prepared to tee off on the 18th hole. But few could imagine what was about to come.
Van de Velde had the ultimate nightmare hole as his wayward drive that ended up on the 17th triggered a shocking series of shots. His second shot was another wild one, a 2-iron that careered into a grandstand railing before coming to rest in deep rough.
From there, the Frenchman hacked his shot into the water, before taking an age to decide whether to play it or not and eventually taking the drop. He finally got the ball into the hole for a triple bogey, forcing a playoff.
Sadly, the damage was done for Van de Velde and he lost out to Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie, with Lawrie finally prevailing as winner.
For Van de Velde, it was the closest he’d get to major success, with his best effort a T19 at the Masters the following year.
What happened to Jean van de Velde after his Open nightmare at Carnoustie
There is no question that this is one of the biggest meltdowns in golf history.
Van de Velde had the Claret Jug in one hand and he must think back to his shot selection over and over.
Still, he had a decent enough career. His form in 1999 managed to land him on the Ryder Cup team, where he featured just the once and was soundly beaten by David Duval III.
Van de Velde did find time to win golf tournaments again though, winning on the DP World Tour in 2006, some 13 years after he had won his only other DP World event at the Roma Masters.
Now 59, Van de Velde is still doing bits on the European Senior Tour.
However, while he’s made a good career in the main, that Open loss will live long in the memory and sadly, is going to be what he’s best remembered for.
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