Van de Velde says
he can do it this timeThe
memory of him wading around in water and mud at Carnoustie is still clear, but
three weeks on Jean Van de Velde, the man who blew the Open, has arrived for golf's
next major believing he can make glorious amends. "Through
72 holes, no-one beat me in one of the biggest tournaments in the world - and
if I can do it once, I can do it twice," said Disneyland Paris-sponsored
Van de Velde, as he looked ahead to the United States PGA championship starting
at Medinah in Chicago on Thursday. "This
time, maybe I win. I feel confident I can get back to the same position and win. "People
who saw the whole golf tournament understand what happened. I did my best and
I played well until the end, when I got a little unlucky." Got
brain-dead is how most observers viewed the bizarre happenings on the final hole
in Scotland. Van
de Velde, three strokes clear and needing only a double bogey six, contrived to
make a triple-bogey seven and then lost the play-off. He
put a brave face on it afterwards - and with winnings of £185,000 why not?
- but has revealed that he did turn to his wife Brigitte at one point and ask:
"Why was I so stupid?" It
was one of the most farcical collapses in major championship history and until
he does something greater - or worse, of course - it was what the 33-year-old's
career will best be remembered for. This
week is his first major in America, but the incentive is not just the chance to
erase some of the horror of that Sunday afternoon last month. Van
de Velde lies eighth on the Ryder Cup table and can secure a debut this weekend. His
belief that he can actually triumph this weekend is not shared by the bookmakers,
however. William Hill's have him as a 125-1 shot - the same as the man who profited
from his demise, Scot Paul Lawrie. Tiger
Woods is the clear favourite at 11-2, followed by world number one David Duval
and European number one Colin Montgomerie at 12-1. Lee Westwood, winner of his
last two tournaments, is 25-1. Odds:
11-2 Tiger Woods; 12-1 David Duval, Colin Montgomerie; 16-1 Ernie Els, Vijay Singh;
20-1 Davis Love; 25-1 Justin Leonard, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood; 33-1 Jim Furyk,
Tom Lehman, Jesper Parnevik, Nick Price, Hal Sutton. Others: 125-1 Paul Lawrie,
Jean Van de Velde
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