In Good Nick

‘Soft’ isn’t a word that you’d often associate with Faldo whose mental fortitude got him home down the stretch at three Open championships – in 1987, 1990 and 1992 – and three times at the Masters, in 1989, 1990, 1996. Almost thirteen years on, the last of his Augusta green jackets still defies logic after Faldo’s final round 67 alongside Greg Norman’s 78 turned a six shot final round deficit into a five stroke victory. When I ask Faldo about his strongest, single memory from that final Major success, it’s almost as if he’s on a therapist’s couch, transported back in time, as a descriptive stream of consciousness flows from his mouth.
“The first thought I had was obviously the 18th green, then it was that shot I hit at 13 [a sweetly struck 2-iron to the heart of the green which set up an easy two-putt birdie]. The next thought I had was ‘wow’ when I walked onto the 12th green and suddenly I had a two-shot lead. It’s like bang-bang-bang.
“There are still a lot of emotions from that day. Obviously for me, it was a little further on in my career. I didn’t quite have the self-belief that I had from 1990 to 1992. I had to walk myself through that day mentally and keep myself going. For me, it was probably one of the best mental days I’ve ever had on a golf course.”
As he looks back on his life so far, he’s filled with gratitude but not with surprise. Bold, brave and brash, you could certainly never accuse Nicholas Alexander Faldo of speaking with false modesty.
“I did have visions. I wanted to go and win Majors. I wanted to be successful and I wanted to be famous. I wanted to have lots of money. I wanted to have choices. If we can keep creating opportunities so we can have different choices, that’s about the best thing we’ve got in our lives.”