39 days until golf: Jean van de Velde's unbelievable collapse at 1999 Open

The PGA Tour plans to restart its season June 11 after halting due to the coronavirus pandemic. Each day until then, we'll highlight key moments, people, or facts relating to where we are in the countdown.

Jean van de Velde played near-flawless golf through 71 holes at the 1999 Open Championship. The five-shot lead he held going into the final round at Carnoustie was down to three as he stood on the 18th tee.

He was still up three with one hole remaining. All he had to do was make a six and the Claret Jug was his. Easy, right?

Not for Van de Velde.

The collapse began when the Frenchman hit a terrible tee shot way right that somehow avoided the famous burns on Carnoustie's finishing hole. His second shot was no better, clanking off the right grandstands and settling in long fescue with another burn between his ball and the green.

Here's how it all unfolded:

After hacking his third shot into the water, Van de Velde appeared to embrace his implosion. He took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his pants, and jumped down into the burn. The crowd thought he was going to attempt to play the ball from the water, which could have made things even worse.

However, common sense prevailed. Van de Velde took a drop, found the bunker with his fifth shot, and then left himself roughly 10 feet for a seven. He nailed the putt for a rare one-putt triple-bogey to shoot a 4-over 39 on the back nine. His costly final hole put him in a playoff with Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie.

Lawrie won the four-hole playoff to hoist the Claret Jug, but the 1999 Open Championship remains better remembered for Van de Velde's collapse.