Nick Faldo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sir Nick Faldo MBE
Faldo in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Nicholas Alexander Faldo
Born	(1957-07-18) 18 July 1957 (age 67) Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England
Height	6 ft 3 in
Weight	13.9 st (195 lb; 88 kg)
Nationality	England
Residence	Bozeman, Montana, U.S.
Spouse	Melanie Rockall ​ ​ (m. 1979; div. 1984)​ Gill Bennett ​ ​ (m. 1986; div. 1995)​ Valerie Bercher ​ ​ (m. 2001; div. 2006)​ Lindsay De Marco ​ (m. 2020)​
Children	4
Career
College	University of Houston
Turned professional	1976
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour European Tour Southern Africa Tour PGA Tour Champions
Professional wins	43
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	9
European Tour	30 (5th all-time)
Sunshine Tour	1
Other	9
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 6)
The Masters Tournament	Won: 1989, 1990, 1996
U.S. Open	2nd: 1988
The Open Championship	Won: 1987, 1990, 1992
PGA Championship	T2: 1992
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1997
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year	1977
European Tour official money list winner/ Order of Merit winner	1983, 1992
European Tour Golfer of the Year	1989, 1990, 1992
PGA Player of the Year	1990
Payne Stewart Award	2014

Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo (born 18 July 1957) is a famous English retired professional golfer and television commentator. Many people think he is one of the greatest golfers ever. He was known for how much he worked at the game. He was ranked the number one golfer in the world for a total of 97 weeks!

Sir Nick won 41 professional tournaments. This includes 30 wins on the European Tour. He also won six major championships. These are three Open Championships (in 1987, 1990, and 1992) and three Masters tournaments (in 1989, 1990, and 1996).

After his playing career, Faldo became a television commentator. He talks about major golf championships. In 2006, he became the main golf expert for CBS Sports. He also joined the BBC Sport team in 2012 to cover the Open Championship.

Sir Nick Faldo's Early Life and Start in Golf

Nicholas Alexander Faldo was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, in 1957. He was the only child of Joyce and George Faldo. His dad was an accountant.

Nick Faldo "got hooked" on golf when he was 14 years old. He had never even held a golf club before! He watched Jack Nicklaus play in the 1971 Masters on his parents' new color TV. This was his very first time seeing golf.

Becoming an Amateur Golf Star

Faldo quickly became good at golf. He played in the 1974 English Amateur tournament. In 1975, he won both the English Amateur and the British Youths Open Amateur Championship. He loved school until golf came along. After that, he just wanted to get to the golf course as fast as possible.

His golf skills were noticed in the United States. He received a golf scholarship to the University of Houston. He went there for ten weeks. But he felt that going to school was hurting his golf game.

Sir Nick Faldo's Professional Golf Career

After leaving school, Faldo became a professional golfer in 1976. He joined the European Professional Golfers Association. He quickly found success on the European Tour. He finished eighth in the Order of Merit in 1977. He was third in 1978. He won a European Tour event in both of those years. In 1977, he became the youngest Ryder Cup player at just 20 years old. As a new player, Faldo won all three of his matches at the 1977 Ryder Cup. This included a win against golf legend Jack Nicklaus. He also had an amazing win against Tom Watson. Watson had just won the Open Championship two months earlier.

Faldo kept winning on the European Tour in the early 1980s. He won two Sun Alliance PGA Championships in England. He won in 1980 and 1981. Faldo finished at the top of the Order of Merit in 1983. He had five European Tour victories that year.

Changing His Golf Swing for Major Wins

In the mid-1980s, Faldo started to change his golf swing. He worked with a coach named David Leadbetter. He wanted to improve his game to win major championships. Many people thought his swing change was too much work. But later, other players like Tiger Woods used similar ideas.

Leadbetter thought Faldo's swing "looked beautiful." It had "marvelous rhythm." But he said it "hid some problems." After some tough times, Faldo's hard work paid off in May 1987. He won the Peugeot Spanish Open. This was his first European Tour win since 1984. Faldo later said this win was a "major turning point." It gave him his confidence back.

Winning His First Major: The 1987 Open Championship

Two months later, in July 1987, Faldo won his first major title. This was The Open Championship at Muirfield. He played well in tough, stormy weather. He started the final round one shot behind American Paul Azinger. Faldo made par on every hole in his final round. This gave him a one-shot victory. Azinger had been leading by three shots with nine holes left. But he made mistakes on four of his last nine holes.

Faldo's steady play in the final round helped him win the Open title. This was the day after his 30th birthday. He made a five-foot putt on the last hole for his 18th straight par. Faldo said, "I knew I'd do it. And I knew I had to do it."

Close Call at the 1988 U.S. Open

At the 1988 U.S. Open, Faldo tied for the lead after 72 holes with Curtis Strange. Faldo played very well in his final round. He made 14 pars in a row. A birdie on the 15th hole gave him a share of the lead. But on the 16th hole, Faldo had a tough shot from a bunker. He made a bogey there. Strange also made a mistake on the 17th hole. This left them tied on the 18th tee. Faldo missed a birdie putt on the 18th green. This would have made him the first British player since 1970 to hold both major national championships. The next day, Strange won the playoff by four strokes.

Back-to-Back Masters Victories (1989 & 1990)

Faldo won his second major championship at the 1989 Masters. He started his final round five shots behind the leader, Ben Crenshaw. Faldo's final round was a fantastic 65. He made eight birdies. This helped him get into a playoff with Scott Hoch. Faldo made some amazing putts. He made a 50-foot birdie putt on the first hole. He also made long birdie putts on other holes.

In the sudden-death playoff, Hoch missed a very short putt that would have won him the tournament. On the second playoff hole, as it was getting dark, Faldo made a 25-foot birdie putt to win.

At the 1990 Masters, Faldo won again! He came from behind to get into a playoff with Raymond Floyd. He won on the second playoff hole again. Floyd hit his shot into a pond. Faldo became the first player to win the Masters two years in a row since Jack Nicklaus in 1965–66.

More Open Championship Success (1990 & 1992)

The next month, Faldo won his second Open Championship at St Andrews, Scotland. He won by five shots. He was the first golfer since Tom Watson in 1982 to win two majors in the same year.

Faldo won the famous Claret Jug trophy for a third time in the 1992 Open Championship at Muirfield. Faldo's scores in the first two rounds broke the Open Championship record. He had a four-shot lead after 54 holes. But he lost the lead in the final round to American John Cook. Faldo fought back with birdies on two of the last four holes. He won by one stroke. Cook made a mistake on the last hole.

Faldo usually seemed calm and serious. But he showed a lot of emotion after winning the Open in 1992. He was trembling and crying. He later said, "I thought I'd blown it."

Faldo won the European Tour Order of Merit for a second time in 1992. He said, "The run doesn't have to end. If someone is going to beat me then I'm going to make sure they've worked for their victory." That year, he earned a lot of money, breaking the record.

Professional Career: 1993–2015

In July 1993, Faldo won the Carroll's Irish Open for the third time in a row. He won in a sudden-death playoff. Later that month, Faldo had a memorable match with Greg Norman at the Open Championship. Faldo played great golf but finished second. Norman shot a spectacular final round.

In 1995, Faldo decided to focus on playing on the U.S. PGA Tour. He wanted to win more major championships. Most major championships are played in the United States. In April 1996, he won a famous victory at Augusta. This was his sixth and final major championship.

The 1996 Masters Comeback

Faldo started the final round of the 1996 Masters six shots behind Greg Norman. But Norman had a very tough day. Faldo shot a 67 and won by five shots over Norman. Even though Norman had a bad day, Faldo's 67 was an amazing display of focus. After Faldo won, he hugged Norman. He told him not to let the media get him down. Norman later said that Faldo "had gone way, way up in my estimations." They have become good friends since then.

After his 1996 Masters win, Faldo only won one more tournament. This was the 1997 Nissan Open in Los Angeles. He was 39 years old. As Faldo got older, his golf game slowly declined. He started spending more time on other activities. He stopped playing regularly on the PGA Tour in 2001.

Faldo continued to play in some major tournaments. At the 2002 U.S. Open, he finished tied for 5th place. At the 2003 Open Championship, he was briefly in the running to win. He finished tied for eighth place. This was his last top-10 finish in a major championship.

After 2005, Faldo played in fewer and fewer tournaments. He played in the 2007 Open Championship, but missed the cut. He did not play in the 2008 Open Championship. This was the first time he had not played since 1975. He played in the Open Championship in 2009, 2010, and 2013, but missed the cut each time. Faldo decided that the 2015 Open at St Andrews would be his last Open Championship.

Faldo in July 2008

Amazing Achievements and Legacy

Sir Nick Faldo has won more major golf championships than any other European player since World War I. Only one other European golfer, Harry Vardon, has won more majors than Faldo. Vardon won seven majors between 1896 and 1914. Also, only one golfer from outside the United States, Gary Player from South Africa, has won more majors than Faldo.

Faldo was named the PGA Tour Player of the Year in 1990. He was also the European Tour Player of the Year in 1989, 1990, and 1992. He has won 29 European Tour titles. While he won fewer tournaments overall than some other golfers, his major wins are very impressive. He has more major victories than Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros, and Bernhard Langer.

Faldo won many important tournaments. These include the French Open, Irish Open, Spanish Open, British Masters, and the European Open. He also won invitational events like the Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge. He had success in team events like the Dunhill Cup and the World Cup of Golf.

In the early 1990s, many people thought Faldo was the best golfer in the world. He was ranked number one in the world for a total of 97 weeks. His six major wins were more than any other player in the world from 1987 to 1996.

Faldo is one of the most successful Ryder Cup players ever. He has won 25 points and played for the European Team a record 11 times. He helped make Europe a strong team in the Ryder Cup. He holds the European record for playing the most Ryder Cup matches.

Peter McEvoy, a former golf captain, said Faldo is "a leading contender to be Britain's finest ever sportsman in an individual sport." He called him "the gold standard." In 2003, PGA chief executive Sandy Jones said Faldo's achievements make him "Britain's best golfer of all time."

Sir Nick Faldo's Playing Style

Faldo was known for staying calm under pressure. He also had an intimidating presence on the golf course. His final round of 18 pars at the 1987 Open Championship showed how steady he could play. Some people said that after he changed his swing, his game became less exciting. But he made fewer mistakes.

People have suggested that Faldo often won because other players made mistakes under pressure. His three Masters wins came after mistakes by Scott Hoch, Raymond Floyd, and Greg Norman. Two of his Open Championship wins happened after mistakes by Paul Azinger and John Cook. However, Faldo always played very well under pressure to win his major titles.

Faldo was not the most powerful player, even though he was tall. His strengths were controlling how far his shots went. He was also very good at managing the course. He had a very strong competitive mind. Gary Player said Faldo "had a work ethic that was quite unbelievable."

After Faldo changed his swing, he became known for his careful and conservative style. But he also shot some amazing rounds of golf. For example, in three straight Open Championships from 1992 to 1994, he shot very low scores.

Faldo was known for being very focused. He didn't spend a lot of time on social chats during tournaments.

In 1998, Faldo stopped working with his coach, David Leadbetter. Leadbetter said that Faldo "wasn't the most popular guy with all the players." He added, "He didn't go out to win friends and influence people." But Leadbetter also praised Faldo's strong work ethic. He said Faldo would hit "500–800 balls a day, every day."

Curtis Strange said in 2005 that Faldo "had a way of folding his arms and looking at you as though he knew you were going to make a mistake." But Strange was proud of beating him in their 1988 U.S. Open playoff.

Nick Dougherty, a golfer who won Faldo Junior Series events, said Faldo is "the most driven human being I've ever known." He believes Faldo helped create the new type of golfer, even before Tiger Woods.

Faldo's Role as Ryder Cup Captain

Faldo was chosen to be the captain of the European Ryder Cup team in 2008. The Ryder Cup is a big team golf competition. The 37th Ryder Cup was held in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Team USA won 16½ – 11½. This ended Europe's streak of three wins in a row.

Faldo chose Ian Poulter as a special pick for the team. This was a good decision because Poulter was the top scorer in the tournament.

On the final day, Faldo used a strategy where his best players would play later in the matches. He thought this would help if the competition was close. But this plan didn't work out. The US team won enough points early on. This made the last few matches not matter for the overall win.

Sir Nick Faldo's Broadcasting Career

After playing less golf, Faldo became a golf commentator. He worked for ABC Sports from 2004 to 2006. He worked with his former rival Paul Azinger. Faldo was not known for being very outgoing as a player. But he surprised many fans with his dry humor and smart comments. People liked him and Azinger joking around.

In 2006, Faldo signed a contract with CBS to be their main golf expert. Faldo said this was a "fabulous opportunity." He knew it would mean playing less golf. Because of this, he missed the 2007 Masters Tournament, which he had won three times. In 2007, he also became the main expert for Golf Channel.

Faldo retired from CBS in August 2022 after 16 years.

Other Activities and Awards for Sir Nick Faldo

In 1991, Faldo started his golf course design company, Faldo Design. He has designed many golf courses around the world. For example, he designed Chart Hills in England. He also designed courses in Cambodia, China, and Mexico.

Faldo also has coaching schools and golf shops. In 1996, he started the Faldo Series. This program helps young golfers under 21 years old. Both boys and girls can join. Over 7,000 young golfers participate each year. There are 38 tournaments in 28 countries. Winners get to play in the Faldo Series Grand Final. Famous golfers like Rory McIlroy and Yani Tseng have come from the Faldo Series.

With the Marriott hotel chain, Faldo created The Faldo Golf Institute in 1997. This program helps golfers of all skill levels improve their game.

In 2007, Mercedes-Benz asked Faldo to be a special representative for their luxury cars.

Faldo has also written several books about how to play golf.

Honors and Awards

Faldo was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1989. He was put into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2000, Golf Digest magazine ranked Faldo as the 18th greatest golfer of all time. In 2019, Golf Monthly called him "arguably the greatest English player of all time."

Faldo was given an award called Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1988. He was later made a Knight Bachelor in 2009. Both awards were for his great contributions to golf. This is why he is called "Sir" Nick Faldo.

Faldo also received the Payne Stewart Award in 2014. This award honors golfers who show good character and charity.

Sir Nick Faldo's Personal Life

Sir Nick Faldo has been married four times and has four children. He currently lives on Faldo Farm in Bozeman, Montana, United States.

Images for kids

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  Faldo in July 2008

See also

In Spanish: Nick Faldo para niños

• List of golfers with most European Tour wins
• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• List of men's major championships winning golfers
• List of World Number One male golfers