[10] Van de Velde arrived at the 18th tee with a three shot lead, needing only a double bogey six to become the first Frenchman since 1907 to win a major golf tournament.

Van de Velde chose to use his driver off the tee, and he drove the ball to the right of the burn, where he was lucky to find land.

On his third shot, Van de Velde's club got tangled in the rough on his downswing, and his ball flew into the Barry Burn, a water hazard.

He removed his shoes and socks and stepped through shin-deep water as he debated whether to try to hit his ball out of the Barry Burn, which guards the 18th green.

Van de Velde shot to within six feet from the hole, and made the putt for a triple-bogey seven, dropping him into a three-way playoff with Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie.

Van de Velde represented Europe, automatically selected by ranking points, at the 1999 Ryder Cup at The Country Club, Brookline, Massachusetts.

Van de Velde, Sandelin and Coltart came to face the three, at the time, highest ranked U.S. players, Davis Love III, David Duval and Tiger Woods.

He made a comeback at the 2005 Open de France, where he lost a playoff to fellow Frenchman Jean-François Remésy after, once again, finding water on the last hole.