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Ailing Now, Van de Velde Was Never Sick Over '99
"I've been diagnosed with what they call glandular fever," said Frenchman Jean Van de Velde, shown during his infamous 72nd hole meltdown at the 1999 British Open. "So that explains why I'm so tired and sometimes why I have an inflammation in some of the parts."
(AP)
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That day, a remarkably composed Van de Velde insisted he had no regrets about how he had played the final hole. Eight years later, not much has changed.
"I've said it before and I've said it many times, [there is] one shot I [would] play again," he said. "I would have played the third [into the grandstand] differently. . . . It was playing into the breeze, it was slightly starting to rain. . . . We can go back that route and talk about it again and again and again. But that would be the shot I would replay."
Van de Velde handled all the painful questions that afternoon eight years ago with remarkable poise, patience and a "c'est la vie" sense of humor. Never mind that he botched the opportunity of a lifetime, he said again Monday, because he still had a terribly positive impact on the game back home in France.
He said when school in his home town of Mont-de-Marsan opened the following September, more than 120 children signed up to play golf. "They all wanted to try because of what happened to me," he said. "If you can inspire people and more people get inspired to play . . . this is what it's about."
Van de Velde said he was, "very sad that I'm not there" at the Open this week. Several TV networks asked him to do commentary but he decided to stay home to determine what's been making him so ill for so long.
"To some people, [golf] means everything. To other folks it's a fantastic way to express themselves and a fantastic way to make a living," he said.
"When I started golf when I was seven, it was my passion. When I was 16, 14, 12 it was my passion. I was one of the fortunate ones who has been able to make a living out of it. I've played Ryder Cup, every single competition you can imagine. So I'm very, very fortunate. And at the same time, it's not all my life. It's not what makes a Jean Van de Velde. It's part of me, but not me.
"I can promise you I will watch on TV. What right do I have to be complaining? Carnoustie, it's great . . . but there's going to be another one next week and next year, and another one the next year. I know inside me I will hopefully be able to be at another championship and maybe another major championship. I don't feel like I have the right to be complaining too much."
