He'll Even Wear a Kilt and Shave His Legs

Jean Van de Velde is going to try to enter the Women's British Open.

"I'll even wear a kilt and shave my legs," he said Thursday after shooting a 7-over-par 78 in the first round of the Volvo Masters.

Van de Velde became infamous in the 1999 British Open when he led by three strokes going to the 72nd hole, then wound up losing the tournament in a playoff.

The 39-year-old Frenchman is upset with a recent policy set by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club to allow women to qualify for next year's British Open.

"My whole point is where do we draw the line?" Van de Velde asked, and called the rule change a farce.

"If we accept that women can enter our tournaments, then it applies that men can play with women," he said.

The Frenchman said he would get an application and attempt to qualify.

Next year's women's British Open is set for Aug. 3-6 at Royal Lytham. The event is run by the Ladies' Golf Union, which established a gender policy this year.

The policy says: "It shall be a condition of any competition organized by the Ladies' Golf Union that players must be of the female gender."