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Saturday, Jul. 17 2:27pm ET
Harig: Van de Velde shoots for history



CARNOUSTIE, Scotland -- Tommy Armour, Henry Cotton, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Tom Watson.

Jean Van de Velde?

 Jean Van De Velde
Jean Van de Velde will begin the final round as the only player not over par.
The name does not exactly flow off the tongue, no matter the language. And even he would admit it looks out of place alongside the greats of the game who have won the British Open at Carnoustie Golf Links.

But another day such as Saturday, and "Van de Velde" can be carved on the Claret Jug, never to be removed.

Remarkable, really.

In golf, Van de Velde is a foreigner in every sense, with virtually no impact, even on his home European Tour, where he has but one victory in 11 seasons and no finish higher than 18th on the Order of Merit.

Van de Velde, a Frenchman, has never played on some of golf's grandest stages. Never driven down Magnolia Lane at Augusta National for The Masters. Never teed it up on America's most storied courses for the U.S. Open. Never even played in a PGA Championship, unless you count the Volvo PGA, a European event.

And being from a country not exactly steeped in golf tradition, a land of just 250,000 golfers, it is unlikely that one of them would emerge to win the championship of the world.

Yet here is Van de Velde leading the biggest tournament of them all, the Open Championship, on one of its most demanding courses. No Frenchman has won the tournament since Arnaud Massy in 1907.

Van de Velde, 33, shot 68 on Friday to give himself the halfway lead, but his effort Saturday might have been the golf of a lifetime. His 1-under 70 included just 23 putts, and he got up and down from everywhere but St. Andrews. Only seven players in the field have hit less fairways.

But Van de Velde leads by five shots over 1997 British Open champion Justin Leonard and Craig Parry. Tiger Woods, just three back when the day began, lost ground with a 74 that put him seven shots behind. Two-time British Open champion Greg Norman couldn't keep pace, either, shooting 75 to fall eight back.

They should be dancing in the streets of Paris, if they care.

"I think it will be big no matter what," said Van de Velde, who started playing golf at age 6 in a country that is far more enamored with soccer and rugby. "It's the biggest tournament, and maybe the smallest of players is going to win. ... People dream about having lives like us and about being here. They say, 'He's five ahead and he's scared, what's going on?' Exactly. Because I have the opportunity and that's what everybody wants."

And Van de Velde is taking advantage, enjoying his flirtation with fame.

When asked about a favorable drop he received on the 11th hole, Van de Velde said: "I had a big TV tower in my line, and I asked the referee if I could get relief, or if I played it and killed the cameraman, what would happen?"

When asked about his sponsorship arrangement with EuroDisney, he quipped: "I basically have to test all the rides, and go around with the characters."

As for his sense of humor: "I have a red nose in the bag."

He won't be taking it to the first tee on Sunday, where it is likely he'll feel the most pressure of his career.

"Anyone who has a lead like that and has to sleep on it, that's not easy to do," Woods said. "When I led The Masters, it wasn't exactly an easy night's sleep. And I had a nine-shot lead. He knows this golf course. He knows it's very penal."

Indeed, nobody will be stealing this tournament from Van de Velde, simply because Carnoustie is not set up to yield a 65. He'll have to falter, which is what everyone behind him hopes.

"If he keeps doing what he's doing, it's going to be really hard to catch him," Woods said. "But you never know."

Van de Velde isn't trying to fool himself. He knows he'll be nervous Sunday morning, waiting around for his afternoon tee time. He knows he's not supposed to be here, ranked 152nd in the world, beating back the likes of Woods and Leonard and Norman. He knows it could all crumble apart.

And if it does?

"My knees are going to touch each other on the first tee," he said. "Maybe I'm going to blow it, but let me tell you I will enjoy it. I'm going to force myself to enjoy it."

Bob Harig, who covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times, writes a column every Tuesday for ESPN Golf Online.


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