No one doubts that the iconic image of an extraordinary tournament is of Van de Velde in the Barry Burn, trousers rolled up to his knees, quizzical expression, however, after lugging Lawrie's bag for 76 holes that week, Byrne has a host of personal memories as the championship returns to Carnoustie next week.

Such as Lawrie's magnificent four iron to just four feet at the 18th hole in the play-off, and the deafening noise from the amphitheatre of grandstands as he walked up to the green realising his boss was about to be crowned Open champion.

Such as Van de Velde's haunted look at the start of the play-off, such as his younger brother Damien getting a police escort out of Glasgow airport and back to Carnoustie when someone told him that Lawrie was in a play-off, and such as that Sunday night.

In truth, the celebrations are a bit of a blur, but there was a moment after the presentation, and a seemingly endless round of media interviews, when Lawrie, his coach Adam Hunter, Byrne and a few other people were walking out of the clubhouse and heading for the car park.

Two fellas, somewhat the worse for wear, were coming in the opposite direction and when Lawrie swept by with the Claret Jug, there was a pause before one looked at the other and said: "Nah, can't be."

While Lawrie would complain of the lack of recognition he was afforded . . .

Davis Love later denied he ever said that Carnoustie had got the champion it deserved . . . Byrne didn't seek any recognition. He only had to glance at the picture of him and Lawrie with the famous silver jug, or at the flagstick from the 18th green which he kept, to remind himself of what had happened on 18 July, 1999.

"At that stage, I was only just starting out, and there are guys on tour for more than 20 years, and they've never won a tournament. That Sunday has to be one of the best days of my life, it's something that no one can ever take away."

Faded records might reveal otherwise, but it is generally accepted that ever since the role of the professional caddie became more defined, Byrne has the record as the first Irishman to bring in a major champion. Not too shabby after just five months on the European Tour.

Paddy Byrne's story begins and ends in Dubai. Now aged 31, having worked in the family business established by his father Seamus, who hails from near Killybegs, he is currently running his own company in the Gulf which provides accommodation for oil field workers.

Back in 1999, he had an interest in golf, but the thought of caddying had never crossed his mind. The week the Dubai Desert Classic rolled into town, he got a call from a friend who said there were a few players who needed caddies, and one of them was Paul Lawrie.

Byrne got the job, got on well with the Scot and presumed when the cut was missed comfortably, he would be heading straight back to the day job. But Lawrie wondered if he was interested in working for another week in nearby Qatar, he was, and Lawrie just happened to win the tournament by seven strokes.

He listened, he learned, and by the time he got to the Open for his first major championship, he had a good idea of what Lawrie wanted from a caddie.

What he had never seen though, was a links like Carnoustie with its tricked-up rough and its impossibly narrow fairways.

But Lawrie knew the territory, and never got caught up in all the talk about what greenkeeper John Philp, described by David Duval as "out of control", had done to the course.

"Paul never mentioned the course at all, he was very calm, he just accepted it, " says Byrne. "I was having dinner most evenings with JP Fitzgerald, who's now working for Ernie Els, and Mick Donaghy, who has been with Ian Poulter until recently, and we'd be talking about the course, and how tough it was, but they were saying, 'Your man's got a great chance' because the tougher the conditions the better he is. I was thinking it'd be great if we could just finish in the top 10."

But Lawrie faltered on the Saturday, and when he set out on the final round 10 strokes behind Van de Velde, no one could have imagined the dramatic twists that would follow even after Lawrie had carded an outstanding 67 which was two better than anyone in the field could manage.

When the Scot finished on six over par more than an hour before Van de Velde squandered a three-shot lead with his famous implosion at the 18th, he went straight to the practice range sensing there was an outside chance of a play-off.

"I was sent off to watch on TV, and I was coming out to give Paul an update every 10 minutes or so, " Byrne remembers. "Eventually, Paul, Adam Hunter and I were all watching Van de Velde play the 18th together. I know strange things can happen, but to be honest, I didn't think we had a chance. I would've taken second place gladly f 'Thanks for a great week, what an experience.'" Having won the Open at Troon two years earlier, Justin Leonard was the favourite to win the play-off, Van de Velde was given little chance, and that left Lawrie in the perfect position. He birdied the third hole, and then finished the job with that superb four iron to the last.

"My cousin, Paul Hearty, has won an All Ireland medal with Armagh, and we've talked about that feeling when you're looking up at thousands of people who are making a lot of noise, " says Byrne. "Obviously, I was only carrying the bag, but it was incredible to be walking up the 18th listening to the galleries singing Paul's name. It was fairytale stuff, just to be there, money can't buy that."

Byrne went on to caddie for Lawrie at the infamous Ryder Cup at Brookline later in the year, but their working relationship came to an abrupt end at the WGC World Match Play at La Costa the following March when the Scot sacked him during the tournament.

"I know a lot of caddies say this, but even now, I can't put my finger on what happened. I really don't know. I mean Paul had beaten Chris Perry and Billy Mayfair and just before his next match against Mark Calcavecchia, he told me he wouldn't be needing me any more. It was a strange one, in mid-tournament.

I didn't want to start a row, so I bit my tongue and got a flight out of there that night."

Byrne later worked for another Scot, Alastair Forsyth, with whom he won the Malaysian Open in 2002, as well as Simon Dyson and Steve Webster, before quitting the tour in 2004. "In the end, it wasn't my way of life, and I had a work opportunity to go back to in Dubai. I was living in Dublin during those six years, and for someone who went out to caddie for a week, they were great years."

And that day when he held the Claret Jug with Paul Lawrie was a great day.