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Nick Price

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For other people named Nick Price, see Nick Price (disambiguation).

Nick Price
Personal information
Full nameNicholas Raymond Leige Price
Born (1957-01-28) 28 January 1957 (age 67)
Durban, Natal Province, Union of South Africa
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationality Zimbabwe
ResidenceJupiter, Florida, U.S.
Career
Turned professional1977
Current tour(s)Champions Tour
Professional wins49
Highest ranking1 (14 August 1994)[1]
(44 weeks)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour18
European Tour5
Japan Golf Tour1
Sunshine Tour9
PGA Tour Champions4
Other15
Best results in major championships
(wins: 3)
Masters Tournament5th: 1986
PGA ChampionshipWon: 1992, 1994
U.S. Open4th/T4: 1992, 1998
The Open ChampionshipWon: 1994
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2003 (member page)
Sunshine Tour
Order of Merit winner		1982/83
PGA Player of the Year1993, 1994
PGA Tour
Player of the Year		1993, 1994
PGA Tour
leading money winner		1993, 1994
Vardon Trophy1993, 1997
Byron Nelson Award1997
Payne Stewart Award2002
Bob Jones Award2005
Old Tom Morris Award2011

Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a 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 (now 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.[2] 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.[3] Price's nephew Ray Price is a national cricketer for Zimbabwe.[4]

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 two-shot lead with six holes to go.[5] 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.[6]

After that win, it would be another eight years almost 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.)[7]

Price was able to drive the ball long and exceptionally straight. With his irons he had the ability to manipulate the direction and flight of his shots unlike many other players.

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.",[8] 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.

Price would write three words in his diary before each season: "Persistence, persistence, persistence".

Professional wins (49)

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. Year Tournament Opponent(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)

Major championships are shown in bold.

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

Sunshine Tour wins (9)

Other wins (15)

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. Year Tournament Opponent(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)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner(s)-up
1992 PGA Championship 2 shot deficit −6 (70-70-68-70=278) 3 strokes United States John Cook, England Nick Faldo,
United States Jim Gallagher, Jr., United States Gene Sauers
1994 The Open Championship 1 shot deficit −12 (69-66-67-66=268) 1 stroke Sweden Jesper Parnevik
1994 PGA Championship (2) 3 shot lead −11 (67-65-70-67=269) 6 strokes United States Corey Pavin

Results timeline

Tournament 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT DNP DNP T39 DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP 5 T22 T14 CUT
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP T48 DNP CUT DNP T17 T40 CUT
The Open Championship T27 T23 T2 CUT T44 CUT DNP T8 2 CUT
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP T67 T54 5 CUT T10 T17 T46
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament DNP T49 T6 CUT T35 CUT T18 T24 CUT T6
U.S. Open DNP T19 T4 T11 CUT T13 DNP T19 4 T23
The Open Championship T25 T44 T51 T6 1 T40 T45 CUT T29 T37
PGA Championship T63 DNP 1 T31 1 T39 T8 T13 T4 5
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Masters Tournament T11 CUT T20 T23 T6 CUT DNP
U.S. Open T27 CUT T8 T5 T24 T9 CUT
The Open Championship CUT T27 T14 T28 T30 CUT DNP
PGA Championship CUT T21 CUT DNP DNP DNP CUT

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 1 4 11 20 13
U.S. Open 0 0 0 3 5 12 20 15
The Open Championship 1 2 0 3 5 8 27 20
PGA Championship 2 0 0 5 7 10 20 16
Totals 3 2 0 12 21 41 87 64
  • 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. ^ "Week 33 1994 Ending 14 Aug 1994" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Nick Price: Bio". nickprice.com.
  4. ^ Williams, Jeff (June 2011). "Gentleman Nick". Cigar Aficionado. pp. 80–88.
  5. ^ Miller, Geoffrey (19 July 1982). "Watson Wins Open by One Shot". Ocala Star-Banner. Ocala, Florida. Associated Press. p. 1C.
  6. ^ "Price is right in golf World Series". Rome News-Tribune. Rome, Georgia. 29 August 1983. p. 6.
  7. ^ Mayo, Michael (12 April 1996). "Norman Masters Augusta". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
  8. ^ Apfelbaum, Jim, ed. (2007). The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-014-0.
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