He is the golfer who led The Open Championship after his first ever round in a major before missing the cut after an 86 on Friday

Add as preferred source on Google

There have been few tests in major championship golf over the last few decades quite like The Open Championship in 1999, which was held at Carnoustie on the east coast of Scotland.

Of course, many will remember how the 1999 Open Championship concluded, with Jean van de Velde making a triple bogey on the 18th hole to end up in a playoff with Paul Lawrie and Justin Leonard.

Ultimately, it would be Lawrie who lifted the Claret Jug having started the final day 10 shots back of the lead.

The winning score was six over par, while both Leonard and van de Velde finished the four-hole playoff at three over par.

The player who led the 1999 Open Championship after the opening round before missing the cut at Carnoustie

Carnoustie came in for a lot of criticism, with Tom Watson remarking after the first round, in comments reported by the Guardian: “The course is unfair. It’s an unfair golf course from the standpoint that the fairways are too narrow.” He was far from the only person unhappy with the setup.

Those who reached the weekend at 12 over par made the cut. Meanwhile, there were just nine rounds which broke 70 all week.

And it all started with just one player ending Thursday at level par – in the first round he ever played in the majors.

Rod Pampling was largely unknown when he arrived at Carnoustie 26 years ago. The Australian went on to have a decent career on the PGA Tour, with the highlight coming at Bay Hill in 2006 as he won Arnold Palmer‘s tournament.

And he ended up taking advantage of the slightly more favourable conditions early on that Thursday at Carnoustie, as he posted a 71. The round left him one shot clear of Scott Dunlap and Bernhard Langer.

Unfortunately, Pampling’s hopes of an incredible victory on his major championship bow were dashed one day later. He shot an 86 to tumble down the leaderboard and miss the cut. He was level with the likes of Sir Nick Faldo, Jose Maria Olazabal and 1998 Open champion Mark O’Meara.

How Rod Pampling fared after leading The Open in his first major championship appearance

That would prove to be Pampling’s only major appearance until 2003, while it would not be until the following year that he made it into The Open again.

The highlight of his career in the majors came in 2005 as he finished tied for fifth at The Masters. That would prove to be his only top 10 in 29 major appearances across his career.

Now 55, Pampling has had two wins on the Champions Tour, while his best finish so far in 2025 came at the Cologuard Classic as he ended up in a tie for third.