The Senior Open: 25 years after gutting defeat, Jean van de Velde returns to Carnoustie

Jean van de Velde doesn’t shy away from the reality. He needed six shots on the final hole to become France’s first modern-era major champion, 25 years ago at The Open at Carnoustie.

You know how the story goes. His second shot at the par-4 18th deflected off a grandstand railing into high grass, he chunked his third into a burn, and he made triple bogey to fall into a playoff, where he lost to Paul Lawrie in a four-hole aggregate that also included Justin Leonard.

Heartbreak in its most dramatic, gut-wrenching form.

Van de Velde never won that elusive major title, but life isn’t defined by what you don’t have. It’s about what you make with what you have. Now 58, van de Velde has thrived in his career’s second act as a broadcaster for Canal+, where he covers major championships and THE PLAYERS Championship, while also spending time as a golf instructor, tournament operator and wine merchant, among other pursuits. He’s a renaissance man, and he relishes getting to know French golf’s newest stars, including Matthieu Pavon (who earned France’s first TOUR title of the modern era at this year’s Farmers Insurance Open) and Victor Perez, among others.

It's less common these days but van de Velde still tees it up on occasion, and that leads him back to Carnoustie. Van de Velde will compete this week at The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex, contested at Carnoustie for the first time since 2016. He also competed that year, shortly after turning 50, and missed the cut with rounds of 83-74. At this stage in his life and career, how he plays doesn’t matter much to him. He savors the game’s ability to connect generations, preserve traditions and inspire. His failure to earn a claret jug doesn’t mean that his career’s first act was for naught, and he knows that.

“You close your eyes and you remember everything,” van de Velde said earlier this year. “Years go by very quickly. You just remember how it felt to be leading a tournament or to lose one or to win one, and once you’ve been a professional athlete or professional sportsman, it doesn’t go away … This game very often takes more than it gives, but that’s the essence of it, and that’s OK.”

A victory at Carnoustie, of course, would be a storybook outcome. He’s tempering his expectations; he appreciates the opportunity to compete, and he envisions this week as his competitive farewell to The Senior Open. Stalwarts in this week’s field include Padraig Harrington (fresh off a T22 finish at last week’s Open at Royal Troon), Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen, among others.

But his scores don’t define him, and that crushing ending 25 years ago doesn’t haunt him. It didn’t back in 1999, when he graciously met the media after that gripping Open defeat, and it doesn’t now.

“It never did,” van de Velde said earlier this year, “and that’s what some people have struggled to understand, is that of course, we all play to win, of course, I was highly disappointed, but at the end of the day, who can predict that you’re going to hit a piece of metal on the side of the grandstand that is the size of a golf ball and then go back and hit the water, go back another 30 yards …

“Things happen. Look, I’m still here, I’m still standing. I played golf after that on the PGA TOUR. I’ve had amazing experiences, and I’ve been very, very fortunate and very lucky. No, it’s never haunted me, and it’s not about to start.”

Van de Velde isn’t the only feel-good story this week at Carnoustie. Here’s a capsule look at some others to support in Scotland, as The Senior Open returns to the venue known by some as “Car-nasty” for the first time since 2016.

Ryan Jansa

The affable South Dakotan has worked as a kitchen designer, auto sales associate and land development manager. He currently works full-time a real estate loan officer at First Dakota National Bank in Sioux Falls. That’s not a resume you’d necessarily expect to yield a tee time at The Senior Open.

Yet Jansa made his Open dream a reality with a 6-under 64 at the Firestone Country Club qualifier earlier this month, earning one of five available spots. Jansa, 51, has made just two starts on PGA TOUR Champions – both in 2023 – and this marks his first appearance in a senior major.

Jansa has relished the experience, chronicling his transatlantic adventures with updates on X, formerly Twitter, in recent days. He’ll tee it up Thursday against several of the game’s legends, and the moment isn’t lost on him.

“Dream big,” he said in a video Sunday. “We dreamed big, and look at us. Here we are. Carnoustie … I pinched myself the whole way here. I’m out here working at the practice facility, and it’s hard to even wrap my head around.”

Jason Perry

As Golfweek’s Adam Schupak wrote this week, Perry is a real-life Tin Cup tale.

Perry earned his spot at The Senior Open via open qualifying, carding 6-under 64 at Firestone Country Club’s Fazio course, as did Jansa. The South Carolinian has made just one career PGA TOUR start, a DQ at the 1998 BellSouth Classic. He spent several years chasing the dream on mini-tours, with contemporaries including Boo Weekley and Heath Slocum. He appeared on the Developmental Players Tour, Hooters Tour and Teardrop Tour, among other circuits. But he abandoned his TOUR dreams years ago, he told Schupak, and has worked for the past 10 years installing artificial turf.

Perry is now a small business owner, with JP’s Custom Turf and Landscaping offering tee line turf, putting green turf, playground turf, landscape turf and even pet turf. He chatted with Schupak while completing a few jobs installing putting greens and landscape turf so he could practice before making the transatlantic journey to Carnoustie.

Perry was curious about how his game might hold up against PGA TOUR Champions pros upon turning 50. This week, he’ll pursue that curiosity.

Notah Begay III

Last week, Begay was at The 152nd Open at Royal Troon, not as a player but as a broadcaster. Then he headed to Dundee, Scotland and qualified for The Senior Open with a 4-under 69 at the Downfield GC qualifying site. The news made waves on PGA TOUR Champions social media platforms, quickly garnering more than 1,200 likes on X, formerly Twitter.

Begay, a four-time PGA TOUR winner, spends ample time these days behind the mic; he debuted on Golf Channel in 2010 and joined NBC Sports full-time in 2013. His pedigree is substantial – he was a teammate of Tiger Woods at Stanford in the mid-1990s, and he made 217 TOUR starts before his career was slowed by injury. He also founded the NB3 Foundation, which strives to improve Native American children’s health and has invested $10 million and counting in Native communities.

The New Mexico native has made seven PGA TOUR Champions starts this season, including two top-20s in his last three starts. His game is trending, and he’ll aim to carry that momentum to Carnoustie.

Joe Ogilvie

Plenty has happened in Joe Ogilvie’s life since his most recent TOUR-sanctioned start in 2014. He stepped away from competitive golf to work in financial management (he’s a partner at Wallace Capital Management), and he was recently named to the PGA TOUR Enterprises Board of Directors. It’s a crucial time in navigating the professional game’s future, and Ogilvie is on the front lines.

In the meantime, he’ll return inside the ropes at Carnoustie for his PGA TOUR Champions debut.

Don’t be fooled by Ogilvie’s business acumen – he’s an accomplished player at the game’s highest level, having made 399 TOUR starts including a victory at the 2007 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. He’s also a four-time Korn Ferry Tour winner, having earned his TOUR card via the circuit in 1998 and 2003.

“Welcome to Carnoustie. What a terrifically difficult golf course,” Ogilvie posted Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter. He accepts the challenge.