1999 Open Championship
| Dates | 15–18 July 1999 |
|---|---|
| Location | Angus, Scotland |
| Course(s) |
Carnoustie Golf Links Championship Course |
| Organized by | The R&A |
| Tour(s) |
PGA Tour European Tour Japan Golf Tour |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 7,361 yards (6,731 m) |
| Field | 156 players, 73 after cut |
| Cut | 154 (+12) |
| Prize fund |
£2,000,000 €2,850,260 $3,058,500 |
| Winner's share | £350,000 €490,000 $577,500 |
 Paul Lawrie
|
|
| 290 (+6), playoff | |
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The 1999 Open Championship was the 128th Open Championship, held 15–18 July at the Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland.
Paul Lawrie won his only major championship in a playoff over Jean van de Velde and Justin Leonard. Lawrie, down by ten strokes at the start of the fourth round, completed the biggest final round comeback in major championship history, headlined by van de Velde's triple-bogey at the last hole.
Van de Velde, who was in control through the latter half of the championship, held a seemingly insurmountable three-stroke lead going into the 72nd hole. He teed off with a driver, which was heavily criticized by the ABC broadcast team, and pushed his shot far to the right, over the water bordering the right side of the 18th fairway, and onto the 17th hole. He later claimed that he thought the lead was only two strokes, which is why he chose not to go with a safe club, such as an iron. Choosing not to simply lay up with a wedge, van de Velde went for the green on his second shot with a two iron. His second shot came to rest in an area of knee-deep rough after his ball bounced backward 50 yards off the grandstand next to the 18th green and off of a rock in the Barry Burn. Had the ball stayed in the grandstand he would have been able to drop without penalty. Then the thick Carnoustie grass stifled him again, as his third shot went into the burn in front of the green. Van de Velde took his shoes and socks off and entered the burn, considering an attempt to play the ball from the water. He decided against it and instead took a drop (fourth stroke), at which point he hit his fifth shot into one of the deep greenside bunkers. He pitched out safely and holed the eight-foot putt on his seventh shot for a triple-bogey. This forced the three-man playoff, which he eventually lost.
Due to the three-stroke lead van de Velde had going into the final hole, his name had already been engraved into the Claret Jug. Following his collapse, the engraver had to scratch through van de Velde's name and then engrave Paul Lawrie's name into it. Beginning with the 2000 Open, the winning golfer's name is no longer engraved into the Claret Jug until after his scorecard is signed by the golfer and verified by tournament officials. Van de Velde's play on this hole is still widely considered to be the worst "choke" in golfing history, and some have even used the term "pulling a van de Velde" to describe similar events.
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