Jean van de Velde

Jean van de Velde is a talented professional golfer, renowned for formerly playing in both the European Tour and the PGA Tour. Forging his reputation as a talented golfer with his first successes at the French Youths Championship and the French Amateur Championship, Jean is best known for finishing as the runner-up at the 1999 Open Championship. Having represented France in the World Cup 12 times, Jean is a highly respected golfer, who is now also highly sought after to share his successes as a golfer at corporate and sporting speaking engagements.

At the dawn of his career as a golfer, Jean represented France at the European Youths’ Team Championships. He also played as an amateur and won both the 1985 and 1986 French Youth Championships and the 1986 French Amateur Championship. After playing at the 1986 Eisenhower Trophy, Jean turned professional in 1987, perfecting his shot to play his rookie season in the 1989 European Tour. By 1993, Jean had established a reputation as a talented golfer, taking home the title of the winner of the Roma Masters of 1993. Having represented France six times in the Alfred Dunhill Cup, Jean has twice found himself in the Top 20 of the Order of Merit. When he was ranked 152 in the World, Jean finished as the runner-up to Paul Lawrie in the 1999 Open Championship, having held a five-shot lead going into the final round but was defeated by Paul in a moment that has become infamous in golf history.

Other notable career highlights of Jean’s include representing Europe in the 1999 Ryder Cup, playing on the PGA Tours of 2000 and 2001, and finishing second at the Touchstone Energy Tucson Open 2000 and the Reno-Tahoe Open 2000. Throughout the duration of his career, Jean was able to secure two European Tour titles, and played in ten European Senior Tour Championships. Aside from his commitments to professional tennis, Jean has also been an Ambassador of UNICEF France – only the second sportsman in France to be honoured with this title.

Now hired to share the story of his professional golfing career, Jean shares the story of his infamous “biggest collapse” in golf, as profiled in Losers on Netflix. In addition to sharing his golfing successes as a speaker, Jean is also a talented host – having previously hosted the Legends Open de France. From claiming two European Tour titles to representing France 12 times in the World Cup, don’t miss your opportunity to hear the career highlights of professional golfer, Jean van de Velde.