Nick Faldo

Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo MBE (born 18 July 1957) is an English professional golfer on the European Tour, now mainly an on-air golf analyst. A top player of his era, renowned for his single-minded dedication to the game, he was ranked No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for a total of 97 weeks. His 40 professional wins include 30 victories on the European Tour and six major championships: three Open Championships (1987, 1990, 1992) and three Masters (1989, 1990, 1996).

Faldo has since become a television pundit for major golf championships. In 2006, he became the lead golf analyst for CBS Sports. In 2012, Faldo joined the BBC Sport on-air team for coverage of the Open Championship.

Playing career

Early years

Born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, Faldo "became hooked" on golf at the age of 14—having never "even picked up a golf club" himself, watching Jack Nicklaus play the 1972 Masters on his parent's "new colour" television (his very first exposure to the game). Just three years later, Faldo won the 1975 English Amateur and the British Youths Championship. Faldo describes his late discovery of golf enthusiastically, saying that he "love[d] school, until golf came along"—after which "the only thing [he] was interested in was getting out of the gates as quick as possible and going to the golf course."