Jean van de Velde (golfer)

Jean van de Velde (born 29 May 1966) 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.

Jean van de Velde
Van de Velde in 2016
Personal information
Full nameJean van de Velde
Born (1966-05-29) 29 May 1966
Mont-de-Marsan, France
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Nationality France
ResidenceDubai, United Arab Emirates
ChildrenAlexandra, Anne Sophie, Hugo, Louie
Career
Turned professional1987
Current tour(s)European Senior Tour
Former tour(s)European Tour
PGA Tour
Professional wins7
Highest ranking70 (21 May 2000)[1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour2
Other5
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT19: 2000
PGA ChampionshipT30: 2000
U.S. OpenT45: 2002
The Open ChampionshipT2: 1999

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.[2][3]

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.[4]

Amateur wins (3)
  • 1985 French Youths Championship
  • 1986 French Youths Championship, French Amateur Championship

Professional wins (7)

European Tour wins (2)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1 18 Apr 1993 Roma Masters 66-76-67-72=281 –7 Playoff Greg Turner
2 26 Mar 2006 Madeira Island Open Caixa Geral de Depositos 69-65-71-68=273 –15 1 stroke Lee Slattery

European Tour playoff record (1–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1993 Roma Masters Greg Turner Won with par on third extra hole
2 1999 The Open Championship Paul Lawrie, Justin Leonard Lawrie won four-hole aggregate playoff;
Lawrie: E (5-4-3-3=15),
Leonard: +3 (5-4-4-5=18),
van de Velde: +3 (6-4-3-5=18)
3 2005 Open de France Jean-François Remésy Lost to double-bogey on first extra hole

Other wins (5)
  • 1988 UAP Under-25s Championship
  • 1995 French PGA Championship
  • 1996 French PGA Championship
  • 1998 Championnat de France Pro
  • 1999 Championnat de France Pro

Playoff record

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1999 The Open Championship Paul Lawrie, Justin Leonard Lawrie won four-hole aggregate playoff;
Lawrie: E (5-4-3-3=15),
Leonard: +3 (5-4-4-5=18),
van de Velde: +3 (6-4-3-5=18)
2 2000 Reno–Tahoe Open Scott Verplank Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole

Results in major championships
Tournament 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT T34 T38 CUT T2
PGA Championship T26
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Masters Tournament T19
U.S. Open CUT T45
The Open Championship T31 CUT CUT T19
PGA Championship T30
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00000111
U.S. Open00000021
The Open Championship01011295
PGA Championship00000022
Totals010113149
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (1999 Open Championship – 2000 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Results in The Players Championship
Tournament 20002001
The Players Championship CUT CUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut

Results in World Golf Championships
Tournament199920002001
Match Play R16
Championship T30 NT1
Invitational T36

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

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References
  1. "Week 20 2000 Ending 21 May 2000" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  2. Harig, Bob (18 July 1999). "Frozen moment: Van de Velde throws it away". ESPN.
  3. "Collapse at Carnoustie". CNNSI. 19 July 1999. Archived from the original on 18 July 2006.
  4. Dunsmuir, Alistair (7 July 2012). "Van de Velde named UNICEF ambassador". Golf Club Management. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
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