Courses · THE OPEN · CARNOUSTIE · 1999

He needed a six to win the Open.

In 1999 Jean Van de Velde stood on the last tee at Carnoustie three shots clear, needing a double-bogey six to win the Open. He took seven, and Paul Lawrie, ten shots behind at the start of the day, won the playoff.

The one to remember

Needing a six, he took seven.

Facts and sources

  • Jean Van de Velde led the 1999 Open by three strokes on the 72nd tee at Carnoustie, so a double-bogey six would have won it (The Open).
  • His driver finished on the 17th fairway. His 2-iron came back off a grandstand railing and the stonework of the Barry Burn into thick rough (BBC, The Open, LINKS).
  • His third went into the burn. He took off his shoes and socks and climbed in to see if he could play it, but the rising tide covered the ball, and he took a penalty drop (The Open, BBC).
  • He pitched his fifth into a greenside bunker, splashed out to about eight feet and holed the putt for a triple-bogey seven (BBC).
  • Paul Lawrie, ten strokes behind with a round to play, won the four-hole playoff by three from Van de Velde and Justin Leonard. The Open calls it double the previous record comeback margin.

Illustration: the 18th hole follows Carnoustie's own hole plan, simplified; the players, the crowd, the weather and the paths of the shots follow the BBC's and The Open's accounts and are not measured.

Sources

  1. 128th Open, Carnoustie 1999 · The Open (The R&A) checked 11 October 2026
  2. The Story of 1999 · The Open (12 October 2022) checked 11 October 2026
  3. Quel désastre - Van de Velde's 18th · BBC News (18 July 1999) checked 11 October 2026
  4. Lawrie wins dramatic Open · BBC News (19 July 1999) checked 11 October 2026
  5. I Was There for Van de Velde's 1999 Open Championship Crash · LINKS Magazine checked 11 October 2026

The narration is AI-generated. Sources last checked 11 October 2026.

Script

In 1999, Jean van de Velde needed a six on the last hole at Carnoustie to win the Open. He was three shots clear. He hit driver anyway, and it drifted right, onto the 17th fairway. His second shot clipped the grandstand, bounced off the stone wall of the Barry Burn, and dropped into deep rough. The third went into the burn. He took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his trousers and stepped into the water, wondering if he could play it from there. But the tide was coming in, and within minutes the ball was under water. He took a penalty drop instead. His fifth shot found a bunker, his sixth got out, and he holed the putt for seven. That meant a playoff with Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie. Lawrie had started the day ten shots behind. He won the Open.