Van-tastic Frenchman shoots tournament-low 68 for British lead Click here for more on this story Posted: Friday July 16, 1999 04:26 PM   Van de Velde's round on Friday included a rare birdie at the 18th to add to earlier birdies at Nos. 6 and 7. AP CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (Reuters) -- British Open leader Jean Van de Velde says his success will be a huge boost for golf in France regardless of how he performs over the weekend. The 33-year-old Geneva-based Frenchman posted the best score of the opening two rounds on Friday, a 3-under 68, to take an overnight lead of one shot from another unlikely front runner, Angel Cabrera of Argentina. With the likes of Tiger Woods, Greg Norman and last year's runner-up Brian Watts among those breathing down his neck, the chances of Van de Velde becoming only the second French winner in the history of the tournament are still slim. But he is not worrying about following Arnaud Massy's 1907 success and says he plans to enjoy his moment in the limelight, however long it lasts. "I'm going to go out there and do exactly the same, try to enjoy it. I know it's a major championship but it's just a golf tournament," he said after his one-over par aggregate proved unmatchable. "As a kid you dream of seeing your name on the board but it's only Friday, I'd like to see it on Sunday. If it's my week then it's my week -- we'll see. "This will be a huge boost for the game in France, whatever happens over the weekend. "You need the players and you need the results. It's difficult when you only have 250,000 players. It's a small game but that will change." Van de Velde could have been even further ahead but for his bad run-in on Thursday. He dropped four shots in three of the last four holes to plummet from level to 4 over. He made sure there was no repeat on Friday, collecting two late birdies, including a rare three at the 18th, to add to earlier birdies at six and seven and a bogey at 13. "My plan was to make pars and see what I could get from there," he said of the run-in that has found out so many over the first two days of the tournament. Van de Velde started playing as a six-year-old when his parents had a summer house on a golf course near Biarritz. Not tempted by the delights of the Atlantic Ocean, he instead discovered the 18-hole game after graduating through seaside crazy golf and putting greens. A distinguished amateur, he qualified for the European tour in 1988 and has been ever-present since. He has just one victory to his name from the 1993 Roma Masters. He made the Open by topping the qualifiers at Monifieth but said this week's success was not such a surprise to him. "I've always been playing well, it just hasn't quite gone my way, maybe I've faded becaue of bad strategy or something but I'm very happy it happened here," he said. Van de Velde might not have yet done enough to shunt the Tour de France off the front page of French sports daily L'Equipe, but he is sure to have lifted golf from its traditional place there among the minor sports.   Related information Stories Jean Van De Velde's British Open Scorecard Van De Velde shoots 68 for lead; Woods in the hunt British Notes: Montgomerie shoots 76, says he's out Multimedia Click here for the latest audio and video Search our site Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

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