Nick Price

Nick Price
Personal information
Full name Nicholas Raymond Leige Price
Born (1957-01-28) 28 January 1957
Durban, Natal Province, Union of South Africa
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Nationality  Zimbabwe
Residence Jupiter, Florida, U.S.
Career
Turned professional 1977
Current tour(s) Champions Tour
Professional wins 48
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 18
European Tour 5
Japan Golf Tour 1
Sunshine Tour 9
PGA Tour Champions 4
Other 14
Best results in major championships
(wins: 3)
Masters Tournament 5th: 1986
U.S. Open 4th/T4: 1992, 1998
The Open Championship Won: 1994
PGA Championship Won: 1992, 1994
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 2003 (member page)
Sunshine Tour
Order of Merit winner		 1982/83
PGA Player of the Year 1993, 1994
PGA Tour
Player of the Year		 1993, 1994
PGA Tour
leading money winner		 1993, 1994
Vardon Trophy 1993, 1997
Byron Nelson Award 1997
Payne Stewart Award 2002
Bob Jones Award 2005
Old Tom Morris Award 2011

Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a South African-born Zimbabwean professional golfer who has won three major championships in his career: the PGA Championship twice (in 1992 and 1994) and The Open Championship in 1994. In the mid-1990s, Price reached number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

Background

Price was born in Durban, Union of South Africa. His parents were originally British. His father was English and his mother Welsh. His early life was spent in Rhodesia (present day Zimbabwe). He attended Prince Edward School in Salisbury (now Harare), where he captained the golf team. After his schooling he served in the Rhodesian Air Force during that country's Bush War.[1] He is at present a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe. He began his professional golf career in 1977 on the Southern Africa Tour, before moving to the European Tour and finally the PGA Tour in 1983. In 1984, Price renounced his Zimbabwean citizenship and thereafter played under his British passport. It was not until 1996 that Price regained his dual citizenship. Price is married to Sue and has three children. They live in Hobe Sound, Florida.[2] Price's nephew Ray Price is a national cricketer for Zimbabwe.[3]

Early professional years

Price won his first tournament outside of South Africa at the 1980 Swiss Open. He was still relatively unknown when he finished tied for second with Peter Oosterhuis one shot behind Tom Watson at the 1982 Open Championship after having a three-shot lead with six holes to go.[4] In 1983, Price won his first PGA Tour event with a wire to wire four-shot triumph over Jack Nicklaus at the World Series of Golf.[5]

After that win, it would be almost another eight years before Price won again on the PGA Tour. In the interim, Price shot an Augusta National Golf Club course record 63 at the 1986 Masters Tournament and finished second at the 1988 Open Championship to Seve Ballesteros.

Career peak

By the mid-1990s, Price was regarded as the best player in the world, and in 1994 he won two majors back-to-back, The Open and the PGA Championship, adding to his first major, the 1992 PGA Championship. He topped the PGA Tour money list in 1993 and 1994, setting a new earnings record each time, and spent 43 weeks at number one in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Price won the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit for the 1982/83 season and would have won again in 1996/97 if he had met the minimum number of tournaments. In 1993 and 1997, Price was awarded the Vardon Trophy; which is given annually by the PGA of America to the player with the lowest adjusted scoring average with a minimum of 60 rounds.

In 2003, Price was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In 2005, he was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honour given by the USGA in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. Price received the 2011 Old Tom Morris Award, the highest honour given by the GCSAA to an individual who "through a continuing lifetime commitment to the game of golf has helped to mold the welfare of the game in a manner and style exemplified by Old Tom Morris."

Playing style

During his early career and peak, Price was one of the best ball strikers in the game along with his good friend and contemporary Greg Norman (who in 1996 tied Price's Augusta National course record of 63).[6]

Like fellow African Gary Player, Price has expressed his distaste for the Ryder Cup, saying of the event, "If you like root canals and hemorrhoids, you'd love it there.",[7] but he has played five times as a member of the Presidents Cup.

Although Price continues to play professionally, he has expanded into golf design with his own company operating out of Florida, and he has his own line of signature golf apparel. He is widely regarded by fans, media and his fellow players as one of the most personable golfers on the PGA Tour. He won his first Champions Tour event at the 2009 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am where he had three double bogeys in his final round, but he hung on to win by one stroke over Larry Nelson.

Professional wins (48)

PGA Tour wins (18)

Legend
Major championships (3)
Players Championships (1)
Regular PGA Tour (14)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runner(s)-up
1 28 Aug 1983 World Series of Golf −10 (66-68-69-67=270) 4 strokes United States Jack Nicklaus
2 5 May 1991 GTE Byron Nelson Classic −10 (68-64-70-68=270) 1 stroke United States Craig Stadler
3 8 Sep 1991 Canadian Open −15 (71-69-67-66=273) 1 stroke United States David Edwards
4 16 Aug 1992 PGA Championship −6 (70-70-68-70=278) 3 strokes United States John Cook, England Nick Faldo,
United States Jim Gallagher, Jr., United States Gene Sauers
5 25 Oct 1992 H.E.B. Texas Open −21 (67-62-68-66=263) Playoff Australia Steve Elkington
6 28 Mar 1993 The Players Championship −18 (64-68-71-67=270) 5 strokes Germany Bernhard Langer
7 27 Jun 1993 Canon Greater Hartford Open −9 (67-70-69-65=271) 1 stroke United States Roger Maltbie, United States Dan Forsman
8 4 Jul 1993 Sprint Western Open −19 (64-71-67-67=269) 5 strokes Australia Greg Norman
9 1 Aug 1993 Federal Express St. Jude Classic −18 (69-65-66-66=266) 3 strokes United States Jeff Maggert, United States Rick Fehr
10 13 Mar 1994 Honda Classic −12 (70-67-73-66=276) 1 stroke Australia Craig Parry
11 30 May 1994 Southwestern Bell Colonial −14 (65-70-67-64=266) Playoff United States Scott Simpson
12 3 Jul 1994 Motorola Western Open (2) −11 (67-67-72-71=277) 1 stroke United States Greg Kraft
13 17 Jul 1994 The Open Championship −12 (69-66-67-66=268) 1 stroke Sweden Jesper Parnevik
14 14 Aug 1994 PGA Championship (2) −11 (67-65-70-67=269) 6 strokes United States Corey Pavin
15 11 Sep 1994 Bell Canadian Open (2) −13 (67-72-68-68=275) 1 stroke United States Mark Calcavecchia
16 20 Apr 1997 MCI Classic −15 (65-69-69-66=269) 6 strokes United States Brad Faxon, Sweden Jesper Parnevik
17 2 Aug 1998 FedEx St. Jude Classic (2) −16 (65-67-70-66=268) Playoff United States Jeff Sluman
18 19 May 2002 MasterCard Colonial (2) −13 (69-65-66-67=267) 5 strokes United States Kenny Perry, United States David Toms
Nick Price with Canadian Open trophy

PGA Tour playoff record (3–3)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1986 Western Open United States Fred Couples, South Africa David Frost, United States Tom Kite Kite won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1992 H.E.B. Texas Open Australia Steve Elkington Won with par on second extra hole
3 1994 Southwestern Bell Colonial United States Scott Simpson Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 1995 NEC World Series of Golf United States Billy Mayfair, Australia Greg Norman Norman won with birdie on first extra hole
5 1998 FedEx St. Jude Classic United States Jeff Sluman Won with birdie on second extra hole
6 2000 Advil Western Open Australia Robert Allenby Lost to par on first extra hole

European Tour wins (5)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 31 Aug 1980 Swiss Open −21 (65-69-67-66=267) 6 strokes Spain Manuel Calero
2 6 Oct 1985 Lancome Trophy −13 (66-71-67-71=275) Playoff England Mark James
3 17 Jul 1994 The Open Championship −12 (69-66-67-66=268) 1 stroke Sweden Jesper Parnevik
4 16 Feb 1997 Dimension Data Pro-Am1 −20 (67-66-66-69=268) 8 strokes South Africa David Frost
5 23 Feb 1997 Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship1 −19 (67-66-70-66=269) Playoff South Africa David Frost

1 Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour.

European Tour playoff record (2–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1985 Lancome Trophy England Mark James Won with par on third extra hole
2 1997 Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship South Africa David Frost Won with par on first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

Sunshine Tour wins (9)

1 Co-sanctioned with the European Tour

Other wins (14)

Champions Tour wins (4)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runner(s)-up
1 19 Apr 2009 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am −9 (66-67-71=204) 2 strokes United States Larry Nelson
2 25 Apr 2010 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
(with Mark O'Meara)		 −28 (62-64-62=188) Playoff United States John Cook & United States Joey Sindelar
3 6 Jun 2010 Principal Charity Classic −14 (67-65-67=199) 4 strokes United States Tommy Armour III
4 13 Mar 2011 Toshiba Classic −17 (60-68-68=196) 1 stroke United States Mark Wiebe

Champions Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2009 Principal Charity Classic United States Fred Funk, Republic of Ireland Mark McNulty McNulty won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Price eliminated with birdie on second hole
2 2010 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
(with Mark O'Meara)		 United States John Cook & United States Joey Sindelar Won with par on second extra hole

Major championships

Wins (3)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner(s)-up
1992PGA Championship2 shot deficit−6 (70-70-68-70=278)3 strokesUnited States John Cook, England Nick Faldo,
United States Jim Gallagher, Jr., United States Gene Sauers
1994The Open Championship1 shot deficit−12 (69-66-67-66=268)1 strokeSweden Jesper Parnevik
1994PGA Championship (2) 3 shot lead−11 (67-65-70-67=269)6 strokesUnited States Corey Pavin

Results timeline

Tournament19751976197719781979
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT T39
PGA Championship
Tournament1980198119821983198419851986198719881989
Masters Tournament CUT 5 T22 T14 CUT
U.S. Open T48 CUT T17 T40 CUT
The Open Championship T27 T23 T2 CUT T44 CUT T8 2 CUT
PGA Championship T67 T54 5 CUT T10 T17 T46
Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
Masters Tournament T49 T6 CUT T35 CUT T18 T24 CUT T6
U.S. Open T19 T4 T11 CUT T13 T19 4 T23
The Open Championship T25 T44 T51 T6 1 T40 T45 CUT T29 T37
PGA Championship T63 1 T31 1 T39 T8 T13 T4 5
Tournament2000200120022003200420052006
Masters Tournament T11 CUT T20 T23 T6 CUT
U.S. Open T27 CUT T8 T5 T24 T9 CUT
The Open Championship CUT T21 T14 T28 T30 CUT
PGA Championship CUT T29 CUT CUT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00014112013
U.S. Open00035122015
The Open Championship1203592720
PGA Championship2005792016
Totals3201221418764
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1989 PGA – 1992 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (five times)

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wade, Don (November 2005). Wanna Bet? The Greatest True Stories About Gambling on Golf, from Titanic Thompson to Tiger Woods. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-1560258995.
  2. ↑ "Nick Price: Bio". nickprice.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Williams, Jeff (June 2011). "Gentleman Nick". Cigar Aficionado. pp. 80–88.
  4. ↑ Miller, Geoffrey (19 July 1982). "Watson Wins Open by One Shot". Ocala Star-Banner. Ocala, Florida. Associated Press. p. 1C.
  5. ↑ "Price is right in golf World Series". Rome News-Tribune. Rome, Georgia. 29 August 1983. p. 6.
  6. ↑ Mayo, Michael (12 April 1996). "Norman Masters Augusta". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
  7. ↑ Apfelbaum, Jim, ed. (2007). The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-014-0.
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