Greg Norman is off the hook. Jean Van de Velde took care of that with a senseless, almost comical, collapse at Carnoustie.

The next time anyone has a meltdown in a major championship, Norman's 78 in the final round of 1996 Masters won't be the first thing that comes to mind.

So where does that leave Open champion Paul Lawrie?

Just as Nick Faldo never received proper credit for his 67, which turned a six-stroke deficit into a five-stroke victory at Augusta National, Lawrie will long be remembered as the unknown Scotsman who was handed the claret jug -- a trophy that had to be redone after being engraved with Van de Velde's name.

Until Sunday, the only thing the French ever gave the British was a hard time.

"Pretty damn good, I've got to say," Lawrie said after his four-hole playoff victory over Van de Velde and Justin Leonard. "I wasn't wishing ill on Jean, but he obviously made a couple of mistakes coming in. And I played lovely in the playoff."

Lawrie was better than that.

His 4-under 67 tied for the best score of the championship and was one of only eight rounds in the 60s all week. He made a 6-foot par putt on the 72nd hole that put him at 6-over 290, which at the time was four strokes off the lead.

The playoff started on No. 15, four holes that measure a combined 1,688 yards and require a mere 15 strokes to match par. Lawrie, who finished three shots ahead of Leonard and Van de Velde, was the only one to do that.

His 70-foot putt from off the green on No. 15 stopped a foot from the hole for a bogey. A bogey from the bunker on No. 16 left him tied with Leonard when he came to No. 17, the toughest hole on the toughest links course in golf.

Lawrie hit a 4-iron to 12 feet and made birdie to take a one-stroke lead over Leonard and Van de Velde, who also birdied the 17th. Ahead at the 18th, the Scottish gallery began singing and swaying upon seeing the score on the leaderboard.

Then, the man who grew up an hour's drive up the coast from Carnoustie gave them something to really cheer. With Leonard's ball in Barry's Burn and his chances to win the Open in effect drowned, Lawrie hit a 4-iron to 3 feet for a birdie-birdie finish.

"To birdie the last two holes here in the playoff to win is obviously a fairy story," he said, gazing at a claret jug that had been taken across the Atlantic each of the past four years. "Seeing this thing sitting here is just absolutely amazing."

Lawrie started the final day 10 strokes behind Van de Velde, and the comeback is the largest in the history of major championships. The previous record belonged to Jackie Burke Jr., who came from eight strokes behind amateur Ken Venturi in the 1956 Masters.

The previous Open record had last been set by Leonard two years ago at Royal Troon, when he came from five strokes behind. That was the deficit Leonard made up Sunday, although he couldn't finish it off in a playoff against two guys who had to qualify for the Open.

Lawrie woke up in his hometown of Aberdeen on Monday, having slept only a couple of hours and still in shock. He was 159th in the world a week ago. Now, he's 48th and the first Scotsman to win a British Open on his native soil since Tommy Armour at Carnoustie in 1931. He also became the first Scot to win the claret jug since Sandy Lyle in 1985 at Royal St. George in England.

He also moved up to No. 2 in the Ryder Cup standings, assuring himself a spot on the team in September at The Country Club.

"I can't wait for the Ryder Cup. I'm looking forward to playing and bringing the trophy back again," he said.

What will become of Van de Velde is anyone's guess.

His only previous victory was the Roma Masters in 1993. He has never finished higher than 18th on the European tour money list. His only claim before last week was criticizing Seve Ballesteros for booting fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Martin off the Ryder Cup team.

Van de Velde wanted to enjoy being in contention for his first major championship, but he went over the top in entertaining the millions watching.

He took off his shoes, rolled up his pants and waded into Barry's Burn, the narrow stream fed by the Firth of Tay that meanders across the 18th hole at Carnoustie. He changed his mind upon closer inspection.

"I could see the ball sinking, telling me, 'Hey, you silly man. Not for you today,"' he said.