1975-82. Young Faldo catches the eye.
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Nick Faldo first caught the eye when he won the British Youths' Open
Championship and then the English Amateur title shortly before his 18th
birthday in 1975. He turned professional the following year and by the
end of the 1977 season he had been named rookie of the year after
finishing in a highly creditable 8th place in the order of merit. Faldo
became the youngest ever Ryder Cup competitor when making his debut in
the 1977 match at just 20 years and 59 days until Spanish sensation
Sergio Garcia took that honour in the 1999 meeting.
The young man from
Hertfordshire performed splendidly on his debut,teaming up with fellow
countryman Peter Oosterhuis to record victories over Ray Floyd/Lou
Graham in the foursomes and Jack Nicklaus/Floyd in the fourballs. The
icing on the cake came with his memorable one up triumph over Open
Champion Tom Watson in the singles. Despite Faldo's heroics the Great
Britain & Ireland team went down to a 12 1/2-7 1/2 defeat in a match
that was played at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Faldo won his first
tour event in 1978 when he captured the prestigious PGA Championship and
later that year he finished in 7th place in the Open Championship,four
strokes behind the winner Jack Nicklaus who finished on seven under par.
There was disappointment in 1979 for Faldo as the first ever European
team went down to a 17-11 Ryder Cup defeat in America and he also failed
to make the top twenty in the order of merit. He bounced back though
and recorded victories in both 1980 & '81 in what was proving to be a
favourite tournament - the PGA Championship. The following year saw
Nick produce a fine performance at the Open where his two under par
total left him in 4th place just two strokes behind the winner Tom
Watson. (David Scranage)
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Nick Faldo pictured on 19th. July 1983. Photo George Herringshaw. ©
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1983 was,without doubt,the best year of Nick Faldo's career to date. He
won on no less than five occasions and topped the Order of Merit in the
process with a total of £119,416. In doing so headed the likes of
Ballesteros,Langer and fellow Brit Sandy Lyle. There was,however,more
Ryder Cup disappointment later that year as the European team went down
to the narrowest of defeats in Florida despite Faldo contributing four
points from a possible five. He partnered Bernhard Langer in a fine
double act that yielded three points and then saw off the challenge of
Jay Haas in the singles.
The following year saw Nick become the first
Briton since Tony Jacklin to triumph in the United States when he won
the Sea Pines Heritage Classic and back home he defended his Car Care
Plan International title. Faldo also produced a fine performance in the
1984 Open where he finished in 6th place and six strokes behind the
winner Seve Ballesteros who carded a twelve under total. It was a case
of what might of been though as Nick counted the cost of his third round
76,besides that he and Ballesteros traded identical rounds throughout
the tournament.
The next couple of years saw the Englishman without a
title to his name as he totally changed his swing under the guidance of
golfing guru David Leadbetter. Faldo had felt that his old swing would
not stand up to the pressures of golf at the very highest level and
those two years in the wilderness were to prove well worthwhile as the
fruits of his labours paid off over the next few years. There was some
joy at least in that difficult two year period as Nick finally tasted
Ryder Cup success as Europe enjoyed a 16 1/2-11 1/2 triumph in the 1985
match. (David Scranage)
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