Nick Faldo
Nicholas Alexander also known as Nick Faldo was born on July 18,
1957 is considered to be undoubtedly the best and the most
successful European golfer ever with over 42 titles to his
credit. Nick always demonstrated a natural aptitude for sport,
but watching Jack Nicklaus competing in the 1971 US Masters was
a defining moment and inspired him to take up golf.
With a set of clubs borrowed from the next door neighbors, Nick
started learning golf at his local club. Within four years he
was the best amateur player in Europe, winning the English
Amateur Championship and the British Youth Championships in
1975. The following year Nick took up golf professionally
finishing 8th on the European Tour Order of Merit in 1977 and
3rd in 1978 and winning a European Tour event in each of those
seasons. In the former year he became the youngest player to
appear in the Ryder Cup at the age of twenty one. Faldo was one
of the leading players on the European Tour in the early 1980s,
and he topped the Order of Merit in 1983.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s Faldo was one of the very best
players in the world. He won the Open Championship again in 1990
and claimed it a third time in 1992. He also won the Masters
Tournament, which is also one of golf's four major championships
in 1989 and 1990. He spent time at the top of the Official World
Golf Rankings and claimed the European Tour Order of Merit a
second time in 1992. That year he had worldwide earnings of