(1) Sir Nick Faldo
There's no question that Faldo is the greatest British golfer of modern times, but was he the greatest in history? The jury's still out on that one (particularly when one considers the achievements of others on this list), but he peaked at a time when British golf was in the doldrums and his achievements undoubtedly inspired the current crop of young Englishmen – the likes of Poulter, Donald, Casey and Rose – into taking up the game. Born into middle class suburbia in Welwyn Garden City, a 14-year-old Faldo was himself inspired into picking up a club after watching Jack Nicklaus come close to winning the 1971 Masters. Just four years later Faldo had won the English Amateur and turned pro the season afterwards. Despite early success, he felt his swing needed to change in order to succeed at the highest level, a decision that baffled many at the time. Showing the steely determination that has defined his career, Faldo, in harness with coach David Leadbetter, spent a painful two years during the mid Eighties revamping his action – and the results were dramatic. In 1987, he silenced his critics by winning the first of his six majors – the Open Championship at Muirfield, after recording eighteen successive pars to hold off Paul Azinger. Back-to-back Masters titles followed in 1989 and 1990, and he added to his Open Championship tally with a win at St Andrews (1990) and a second at Murifield (1992). Faldo, who became only the second golfer to be knighted (Henry Cotton was the first, although his was awarded posthumously), was the top ranked player in the world for ninety- eight weeks, but his decline was almost as rapid as his ascendency. Few watching his magnificent 67 to reel in his fishing buddy Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters would believe that it was to be the second last win of his career. By 1997 it was all over.
