The Open Championship rolls into Carnoustie once again this week and it is a course packed full of famous memories and remarkable sporting moments.
The Angus golf course is known to many as the toughest on the British Open rota with the last four holes in particular amongst the most feared of any in the world.
With Carnoustie once again on the big stage this week it is impossible not to turn the clock back to 1999 and to one of the most famous sporting meltdowns in recent history.
Jean Van De Velde stood on the 18th tee on July 18th 1999 with more than one hand on the Claret Jug.
The obscure Frenchman had played a near flawless round of golf and knew he needed a Double Bogey six or better to lift the most famous trophy in the sport. What followed was a meltdown of epic proportions which ensured he will never be forgotten, for all the wrong reasons.
With his mind frazzled, Van De Velde inexplicably decided to take driver off the tee and that was just the start of the problems. Having narrowly missed going in the burn with his drive, things only went bad to worse for the 33-year-old golfer...
With the whole world watching Carnoustie, Van De Velde decided to go for the green with his second shot which ended with his ball cracking off the grandstand and into the long rough but even then, the worst was still to come!
The next shot ended up in the burn itself in front of the green and that lead to one of the most famous images in 20th century sport.
Off came the socks and shoes as Van de Velde genuinely considered playing the ball out of the water as the meltdown became increasingly difficult to watch. In the end, Van De Velde thought better of that decision before taking a drop and somehow making a putt for a seven to land himself in a three-way play-off.
His chance was gone though and it was Paul Lawrie who lifted the Claret Jug via the playoff and even to this day, it remains a shocking turn of events.
Van De Velde never fully recovered from that day at Carnoustie and to a man and woman, no one who witnessed the meltdown will ever forget seeing the look on his face as the trophy slipped from his grasps.
Sport can bring even the strongest man to his knees and the story of that day in July 2018 highlights the mental stress at the very highest level of competition.
Carnoustie can be an unforgiving mistress and having already chewed up and spat out Van De Velde in 1999, we wait for bated breath ahead of another four days of pulsating sport at one of the most famous Links courses on earth.
