There aren’t many golfers who are so proficient at the sport that they get knighted on account of their achievements. That is exactly what happened to Sir Nick Faldo, however, having been appointed a Member of the British Empire in 1988 and then a Knight Bachelor in 2009. On both occasions he was recognised ‘for services to golf’, which is an entirely fitting epithet for a man widely considered to be one of the ‘greatest English players of all time’.
Faldo won nine PGA Tour events and 30 European Tour events, the latter of which put him in fifth on the all-time winners list. It is, without question, the six Majors that he lifted during his career that saw him rocket up the list of golfers that demand respect; not a bad achievement for someone that actually discovered the sport relatively late in life. He hadn’t even picked up a golf club before the age of 14 but became ‘hooked’ after watching Jack Nicklaus in the 1971 Masters Tournament.
He became dedicated to the sport, eventually becoming so good that he spent 97 weeks at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking. He would go on to captain the European Ryder Cup team in 2008, having launched a golf course design company called Faldo Design nearly 20 years before. He also went on to become a prolific media figure, working for companies in both the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
Faldo was renowned for staying calm under pressure and being an intimidating figure to the golfers that he was going up against. More than anything else, he became incredibly consistent in his play that was key to picking up so many trophies.
Sir Nick Faldo’s Major Wins
| Years | Masters | US PGA | U.S. Open | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✅ |
| 1989 | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| 1990 | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ | ✅ |
| 1992 | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✅ |
| 1996 | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
Masters Wins: 3
In some ways, it is extremely fitting that Sir Nick Faldo won the Masters Tournament not just once but three times. After all, it is entirely possible that he might never have even known about the sport had he not fallen in love it when watching Jack Nicklaus play at Augusta National in 1971, with the 14-year-old sitting in front of his parents’ new colour television. He would later say that he ‘loved school’, but that once golf came along the only that that interested him was ‘getting out of the gates as quickly as possible and going to the golf course’. The impressive thing is that he either won the tournament or didn’t even make the top ten.
1989 – Victory After Sudden Death Playoff
Having finished 40th, tied-20th, tied-15th, tied-25th and tied-30th in the previous four Masters that he’d entered, it is fair to say that no one was really thinking of Nick Faldo as being the nailed-on winner of the tournament in 1989. Having shot 68 and 73 in his first two days, he then managed a +5 77 on day three to drop down to tied-9th in the standards at the end of a prolonged day three. His best score of the weekend at -65 put him tied for the lead and into a play-off with Scott Hoch, with Faldo winning the sudden death format thanks to a long putt for birdie in the wake of Hoch having gone right of the green with his approach shot.
1990 – Second Successive Sudden Death Triumph
Sir Nick Faldo’s time at Augusta National has been a fascinating one, with no top ten finishes apart from on the three occasions that he won the thing. Not only that, but his first two wins were back-to-back successes. The 1990 tournament mirrored the 1989 one, insomuch as it required him to once again hold his nerve in a play-off. An opening round of 71 was good but left him seven off the lead, which he clawed back thanks to a 72 then a 66. A final day 69 triggered that play-off with Raymond Floyd, who had won the event in 1975. Faldo defeated him with two pars on the 10th and the 11th.
1996 – Third Green Jacket After Norman’s Final Round Collapse
There was a gap of six years between Faldo’s previous Masters win and his final one. It was arguably his most impressive win, with Greg Norman having lead at the end of the first three days to build up a six shot lead over Faldo in second. Whether the Englishman won the competition or Norman lost it is a matter of some debate, given the fact that the Australian followed up a 63, 69, 71 with a final round of 78. Faldo took full advantage, though, after shooting 69, 67 and 73 before carding another 73 to win his third green jacket. It tied the largest lead ever lost in a PGA Tour competition, which remains the case to this day.
PGA Championship Wins: None
Unlike the Masters Tournament, Sir Nick Faldo enjoyed a top ten finish without winning when playing in the PGA Championship, doing so on more than one occasion. In his seventh go at the competition he ended up tied-4th, then followed that up by coming tied-9th a year later. His best ever performance in the PGA Championship came in 1992, ending up tied-2nd and three shots behind the eventual winner Nick Price. That was when the tournament was held at Bellerive Country Club in Missouri, with Faldo also coming close a year later when he finished third by a single shot behind Greg Norman and eventual winner Paul Azinger.
US Open Wins: None
Sir Nick Faldo’s first foray into the US Open came in 1984 when he finished tied-55th. When he returned three years later, however, he ended up second, missing out to Curtis Strange in a play-off at The Country Club in Massachusetts. He’d shot 72, 67, 68 to move one shot behind Strange heading into the final day, then carded a 71 to Strange’s 71 to force the play-off. It was played over 18 holes, with Strange winning by four shots. Two years later and Faldo was again unlucky to miss out, ending up tied-3rd, then in 1992 he was tied-4th. After slipping away, he enjoyed an Indian Summer to his career, coming seventh in 2000 and tied-5th in 2002.
Open Championship Wins: 3
Given Sir Nick Faldo’s remarkable career and obvious talent, it is perhaps not all that surprising that he managed to put a few Open Championship wins on the board. He entered the competition for the first time in 1976, ending up tied-28th. He was even worse the year after, finishing tied-62nd. A tied-7th finish in 1978 was the first of 13 top ten finishes that he would go on to enjoy during his career, including his three wins. He was unlucky not to make it four in 1993 when he finished second behind his old adversary Greg Norman, missing out on forcing a play-off by two shots when he carded a final day 67 having led heading into it.
1987 – Maiden Major at Muirfield
Sir Nick Faldo’s first win in the Open Championship came in 1987, having finished fifth the year before. Held at Muirfield in Scotland, he carded a 68 on day one to be four shots off the lead, then a 69 on day two to move within one. A 71 on the third day meant that he remained one off Paul Azinger, but a final day 71 saw him leapfrog the American to win the first Major of his career. The weather might well have played a part in Faldo’s win, given the fact that the final round was played in a grey mist that the Englishman will no doubt have been used to. It was the consistency of Faldo that gave him the win, parring all 18 holes.
1990 – Five-Stroke Victory at St Andrews
Three years later and it was back to Scotland, with Sir Nick Faldo taking on the Old Course at St Andrews. Having already won the Masters earlier in the year, the Englishman was well-fancied for the Open Championship before a ball was even teed up. When he shot 67 on the opening day he found himself one shot behind Michael Allen and Greg Norman in the lead, but then a second day 65 saw him sharing the lead with the Australian. A 67 on the third day put him five shots clear of the next closest players, which remained the case at the end of the final round, handing him his second Open and his fourth Major.
1992 – Third Claret Jug on Muirfield Return
Not only did all three of Sir Nick Faldo’s Open Championship wins come in Scotland, two of them came at the same course thanks to the fact that he won the tournament in 1992 when it was back at Muirfield. It was his penultimate Major win, coming after shooting 66 and 64 on the first two days to put him on -12, three shots clear of the next closest players. A 69 on the third day moved him to a four shot lead, with a final day 73 making things a little bit closer than he would’ve liked. Thankfully it was enough, with the Englishman ending up on -12 for the week; one shot clear of American John Cook in second place.