Don’t ever let anyone tell you that Jean Van de Velde has unburied ghosts from his Carnoustie crash of 1999. Whereas he clearly did not have tha maturity to handle a three-stroke lead on the final hole, ultimately making triple, then losing in a playoff, the skies have cleared for the Frenchman. Sporting a four-stroke advantage with four to play, the master of the minuet eventually stood on the 18th tee three strokes clear of the field…and made double. Tears flowed from my sockets as I envisioned the maturity it took to make six on a par four hole. There is no doubt that the escargots shots are being downed by the dozen along the Seine, that children have swordfights with elongated, crusty baguettes. The Arc de Triomphe will be closed in celebration and police sirens will sound louder than ever, longer than ever

Van De Velde is The Champion, My Friends!