Jean Van De Velde knew all about his country's remarkable triumph in Euro 2000 by the time he arrived at the K Club from Hartford, Connecticut, on Monday. But a key ingredient was missing: he hadn't seen how the great deed was done.
That was when he met compatriot Michel Flamme, the executive chef at the home of the £1.5 million Smurfit European Open, which starts tomorrow.
"To my delight, he told me he had a video of the match, which I borrowed, naturally," said Van de Velde. "Of course it was wonderful, but I would have to say that we got away from jail."
Coming from this particular Frenchman, it seemed a highly appropriate comment, given that he might well have become a prisoner of recrimination after the disaster of the British Open at Carnoustie last year. Instead, he is enjoying the most successful season of his career.
From only seven appearances on the European Tour, he has earned £164,162 for 25th place in the Order of Merit. And from a busier schedule in the US, he has amassed $353,458 from 14 tournaments for 82nd position in the money list.
On top of all that, an appearance in the USPGA Championship at Valhalla next month will mean he will have been exempted into five successive "major" championships since the 1999 British Open. And he has played in two World Golf Championship events. All of which would prompt one to conclude that Carnoustie wasn't really that bad after all.
Indeed, on a personal level, not much has changed in the Frenchman's life. He has retained the same London agent, Professional Sports Partnerships, and has endorsement deals with Fogdog.Com Sports, Never Compromise putters, Cleveland irons, Srixon golf balls and Disneyland Paris.
The Never Compromise contract is particularly interesting for the fact that he spent two days at Carnoustie last December shooting an "infomercial", in the course of which he played the infamous 18th hole, using only a putter.
He also promotes a Bordeaux wine called La Reserve de Jean. But he continues to call Geneva his home and insists he hasn't bought himself anything. Typically self-deprecating, he said with one of those film-star smiles: "I tried to buy a new brain but I couldn't find one."
It is not difficult to like Van de Velde. Memories remain vivid of the K Club during the August bank holiday weekend last year when, in his first tournament appearance after Carnoustie, he bravely confronted the issue of his last-hole collapse, winning countless new friends in the process.
"It took a lot of energy out of me - it drained me a lot," he said of his decision to play the American tour, where his best finish was a share of second place.
He went on: "My main objective is to retain my cards on both sides of the Atlantic. Then, at the end of the year, I will make a decision as to what I do in 2001 - whether I continue to play both tours or whether I chose America or Europe.
"I know that people felt for me and for what happened at Carnoustie, and of course that's very nice. One of the best compliments I ever had was from a guy who came to me three weeks after the Open and told me that I made him realise how seriously he was taking golf. He said to me: `I'm a 10-handicapper and since you said it's only a game, I'm playing a lot better.'
"This is true, you know. Listen. Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. I just lost the British Open. In 100 years, people will still remember Neil Armstrong, everybody. Nobody will remember whether Van de Velde has his name on the trophy or not, except maybe a few historians."
He went on to suggest that nobody would have been aware that a Frenchman, Arnaud Massy, actually won the British Open back in 1907, but for the publicity surrounding his own failure last year.
"Maybe a handful of people knew, but we have four billion people on this planet," he said. "Sure, tournament performances are important to us professionals, but in the world out there, it's not so big a deal."
Though he has probably gone through all of these points more than a 100 times in the last 12 months, Van de Velde retains a remarkably fresh perspective on it all. He can still appear interested while recounting the relevant details of how he squandered a three-stroke lead on the 72nd hole and ultimately lost out to Paul Lawrie in a play-off.
"If it were to happen that I found myself in the same position in 100 other major championships, I would probably win 99 of them," he continued. "The big question was whether I was going to allow myself to be swallowed up by regrets about my great loss, or whether I was going to look on all the good things that happened that week."
He concluded: "Sure, I cannot deny that it's terrible not to have my name on the trophy. But the pile of good things I got from the Open have given me a very exciting year."
And of course, Euro 2000 has come as a special, midseason bonus.
Sweden's Jesper Parnevik could be forced to pull out of the British Open at St Andrews later this month because of a muscle injury to his left hip.
The 34-year-old first developed the problem after he won the Byron Nelson Classic in the second week of May. The pain worsened during the US Open at Pebble Beach, before eventually becoming unbearable.
"The X-ray showed that there was not a problem with the bone, but I'm suffering with overworked hip muscles," said Parvenik.
