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Some of the most legendary moments in sports history involve teams who’ve managed to stage a seemingly impossible comeback, like the one the Red Sox orchestrated against the Yankees in the ALCS in 2004 and the miracle the Patriots pulled off against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
However, virtually every discussion concerning the biggest comeback in sports history could be reframed as one concerning the biggest collapses we’ve ever seen courtesy of the parties who managed to end up on the losing end due to their ability to choke away what appeared to be a guaranteed victory.
In many cases, you can argue about who deserves the bulk of the credit (or blame) for the eventual outcome thanks to their ability (or lack thereof) to execute when it mattered most, and trying to definitively figure out if the winning or losing side played the biggest role can be a bit of an exercise in futility.
However, that’s not the case with the unmitigated disaster that unfolded at The British Open in 1999.
In 1996, Greg Norman fell victim to what at that point may have been the biggest televised collapse in the history of a major tournament after blowing a six-stroke lead in the final round of The Masters.
That was undoubtedly the golf equivalent of a trainwreck broadcast in slow motion, but I don’t think it has anything had the nuclear-level implosion we were treated to courtesy of a man whose name has gone down in history for all of the wrong reasons: Jean van de Velde.
How John van de Velde’s collapse led to the biggest comeback in the history of The British Open
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There’s a good chance Jean van de Velde would’ve been one of the many golfers who’ve essentially been forgotten by history based on how his career had panned out prior to heading to Carnoustie Golf Links for The British Open in 1999.
The Frenchman turned pro in 1987 before joining the European Tour a couple of years later, and he was able to secure his first victory in 1993. However, he was still in search of a second when he joined the 156 players who were invited to participate in the last British Open of the millennium.
Carnoustie was not kind to the field that week, as there wasn’t a single player who was able to bring their overall score below par following the completion of a first round that ended with Rod Pampling leading despite sitting at even.
When the second round wrapped up, Van de Velde sat atop the leaderboard with a one-stroke lead at +1, and by the time Moving Day came to an end on Saturday, he had a very comfortable five-stroke cushion over the two men tied for second at +5.
On Sunday, Van de Velde struggled a bit over the course of a front-nine where he shot a three-over 38, and while he followed up a birdie at the 9th with two consecutive bogeys, he settled down a bit and was able to gain a stroke back before arriving on the tee box at 18 with a three-stroke lead over Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie (the second of whom had rallied from +10 to get into contention with a 4-under 67 on the final day of play).
As a result, Van de Velde was in a prime position to ensure he’d earn the right to hoist the Claret Jug, as a double bogey would’ve still been enough to punch his ticket to the winner’s circle. Based on how he’d played, it didn’t seem like that would be much of a struggle—which did not turn out to be the case.
While the “smart move” would’ve involved laying up with a 3-wood, Van de Velde opted to pull out his driver before hitting a booming tee shot that ultimately ended up on the 17th hole and narrowly avoided landing in Barry Burn, the small river that serves as a hazard on a number of holes at Carnoustie.
He could’ve certainly learned from his first mistake and opted to lay up on his second shot, but Van de Velde once again decided to get aggressive with the 2-iron that sent his ball rocketing toward the grandstand it ricocheted off of before landing in some deep rough.
Even though he’d managed to avoid the water on his tee shot, the same could not be said about his third, as he fell victim to the thick stuff that caused his ball to come up well short of the green before plopping into the creek.
While he went as far as to take off his shoes and wade into the water while debating whether or not to play out of the mud, he ultimately opted to take a drop (and the penalty stroke that came with doing so).
From there, he could’ve gone up and down and still won The Open, but the chance of that happening was essentially extinguished when his fifth shot landed in a greenside bunker before he two-putted for a triple-bogey to clinch his spot in a three-man, four-hole playoff with Leonard and Lawrie.
Lawrie seized on that second chance, as he notched an even score on the holes where both Van de Velde and Leonard posted a +3, which meant he not only won The British Open but pulled off the biggest single-day comeback the tournament has ever seen thanks to the 10 strokes he was able to make up with the help of the historic collapse.
To his credit, Van de Velde eventually agreed to have some fun at his own expense, as he returned to Carnoustie and shot a one-over six on the 18th…using nothing but a putter.
Van de Velde would never win a major and notched what was only the second (and final) victory of his professional career in 2006.