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Nick Price

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

Nick Price
Price in 1994
Personal information
Full nameNicholas Raymond Leige Price
Born (1957-01-28) 28 January 1957 (age 67)
Durban, Natal, 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
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
European Tour
Sunshine Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins48
Highest ranking1 (14 August 1994)[1]
(44 weeks)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour18
European Tour7
Japan Golf Tour1
Sunshine Tour12
PGA Tour of Australasia2
PGA Tour Champions4
Other11
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)
Southern Africa Tour
Order of Merit winner		1982–83, 1996–97
PGA Tour
money list winner		1993, 1994
PGA Tour
Player of the Year		1993, 1994
PGA Player of the Year1993, 1994
Byron Nelson Award1997
Vardon Trophy1993, 1997
Payne Stewart Award2002
Bob Jones Award2005
Old Tom Morris Award2011

Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean former 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.

Early life

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Price was born in Durban, South Africa. His parents were originally British. His father was English and his mother Welsh. His early life was spent in Rhodesia. For secondary school, he attended Prince Edward School in Salisbury where he captained the golf team. After his schooling he served in the Rhodesian Air Force during that country's Bush War.[2]

Professional career

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He began his professional golf career in 1977 on the South African 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's first win was at the 1979 Asseng TV Challenge Series on the Southern African Tour. He won his first tournament outside of South Africa at the 1980 Swiss Open on the European Tour. 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.[3] Price also won the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit for the 1982/83 season.

Price earned PGA Tour membership after finishing 3rd place at 1982 PGA Tour Qualifying School.[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.

Nick Price with Canadian Open trophy

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 would have won the Southern African Tour's Order of Merit in 1996/97 if he had met the minimum number of tournaments. In 1993 and 1997, Price was awarded the Vardon Trophy; it is given annually by the PGA of America to the player with the lowest adjusted scoring average with a minimum of 60 rounds.

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 two strokes over Larry Nelson.[8]

Personal life

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Price is married to Sue and has three children. They live in Hobe Sound, Florida.[9] His nephew Ray Price is a former national cricketer for the Zimbabwe national cricket team.[10]

He is presently a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.

Awards and honors

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  • In 2003, Price was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
  • In 2005, he was voted to be given the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the USGA in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.
  • In 2011, he was bestowed with 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."

Professional wins (48)

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PGA Tour wins (18)

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Legend
Major championships (3)
Players Championships (1)
Other 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

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 (7)

[edit]
Legend
Major championships (3)
Other European Tour (4)
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 Trophée Lancôme −13 (66-71-67-71=275) Playoff England Mark James
3 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
4 17 Jul 1994 The Open Championship −12 (69-66-67-66=268) 1 stroke Sweden Jesper Parnevik
5 14 Aug 1994 PGA Championship (2) −11 (67-65-70-67=269) 6 strokes United States Corey Pavin
6 16 Feb 1997 Dimension Data Pro-Am1 −20 (67-66-66-69=268) 8 strokes South Africa David Frost
7 23 Feb 1997 Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship1 −19 (67-66-70-66=269) Playoff South Africa David Frost

1Co-sanctioned by the Southern Africa Tour

European Tour playoff record (2–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1985 Trophée Lancôme 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)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 12 Sep 1999 Suntory Open −8 (67-71-70-68=276) 1 stroke Japan Shigeki Maruyama

Southern Africa Tour wins (12)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 25 Oct 1979 Asseng TV Challenge Series South Africa John Bland, South Africa Allan Henning,
South Africa Phil Simmons
2 14 Feb 1981 SAB South African Masters −7 (69-75-67-70=281) 4 strokes Zimbabwe Mark McNulty
3 13 Feb 1982 Sigma Vaal Reefs Open −13 (70-66-64-71=275) 5 strokes South Africa John Bland, Zimbabwe Denis Watson
4 12 Jan 1985 ICL International −20 (67-66-69-66=268) 1 stroke South Africa Gavan Levenson
5 31 Jan 1993 ICL International (2) −15 (66-72-65-70=273) 2 strokes Zimbabwe Mark McNulty, United States Bruce Vaughan
6 23 Jan 1994 ICL International (3) −21 (61-69-65-72=267) 9 strokes South Africa David Frost, United States Bruce Vaughan
7 26 Nov 1995 Zimbabwe Open −22 (70-65-66-65=266) 1 stroke South Africa Brenden Pappas
8 16 Feb 1997 Dimension Data Pro-Am1 −20 (67-66-66-69=268) 8 strokes South Africa David Frost
9 23 Feb 1997 Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship1 −19 (67-66-70-66=269) Playoff South Africa David Frost
10 30 Nov 1997 Zimbabwe Open (2) −19 (68-67-66-68=269) 2 strokes Zimbabwe Mark McNulty, South Africa Brenden Pappas
11 22 Feb 1998 Dimension Data Pro-Am (2) −12 (69-67-68-72=276) 5 strokes Zimbabwe Mark McNulty
12 29 Nov 1998 Zimbabwe Open (3) −17 (69-68-71-63=271) 5 strokes South Africa Tjaart van der Walt

1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

Southern Africa Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1984 Goodyear Classic South Africa John Bland Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2 1997 Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship South Africa David Frost Won with par on first extra hole

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 26 Nov 1989 West End South Australian Open −15 (70-71-67-69=277) 5 strokes Australia Lucien Tinkler, Australia Paul Foley
2 8 Nov 1992 Air New Zealand Shell Open −9 (70-65-73-63=271) Playoff Australia Lucas Parsons

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1992 Air New Zealand Shell Open Australia Lucas Parsons Won with par on first extra hole

Other European wins (1)

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  • 1981 San Remo Masters (Italy)

Other wins (8)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 11 Nov 1992 PGA Grand Slam of Golf −7 (70-67=137) Playoff United States Tom Kite
2 5 Dec 1993 Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge −24 (67-66-66-65=264) 12 strokes Zimbabwe Mark McNulty
3 12 Nov 1995 Hassan II Golf Trophy −6 (69-71-74-72=286) 2 strokes England Roger Chapman
4 7 Dec 1997 Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge (2) −13 (71-68-68-68=275) 1 stroke South Africa Ernie Els, United States Davis Love III
5 6 Dec 1998 Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge (3) −15 (67-68-72-66=273) Playoff United States Tiger Woods
6 10 Jul 2001 CVS Charity Classic
(with United States Mark Calcavecchia) 		−15 (60-59=119) Playoff United States Brad Faxon and South Africa Gary Player
7 20 Jun 2006 CVS/pharmacy Charity Classic (2)
(with South Africa Tim Clark) 		−19 (61-62=123) Playoff United States Brad Faxon and Canada Mike Weir
8 23 Jun 2009 CVS Caremark Charity Classic (3)
(with United States David Toms) 		−16 (66-60=126) 3 strokes United States Laura Diaz and United States Matt Kuchar

Other playoff record (4–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1992 PGA Grand Slam of Golf United States Tom Kite Won with par on first extra hole
2 1998 Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge United States Tiger Woods Won with birdie on fifth extra hole
3 2001 CVS Charity Classic
(with United States Mark Calcavecchia) 		United States Brad Faxon and South Africa Gary Player Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 2006 CVS/pharmacy Charity Classic
(with South Africa Tim Clark) 		United States Brad Faxon and Canada Mike Weir Won with birdie on second extra hole

Champions Tour wins (4)

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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 United States Mark O'Meara) 		−28 (62-64-62=188) Playoff United States John Cook and 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 Opponents 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 by birdie on second hole
2 2010 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
(with United States Mark O'Meara) 		United States John Cook and United States Joey Sindelar Won with par on second extra hole

Playoff record

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Asian PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2002 Macau Open China Zhang Lianwei Lost to par on fifth extra hole

Challenge Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1991 Zimbabwe Open England Grant Turner, England Keith Waters Waters won with birdie on fifth extra hole
Price eliminated by par on first hole

Major championships

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Wins (3)

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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

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Tournament 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT T39
PGA Championship
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
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
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
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
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
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

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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 9 27 20
PGA Championship 2 0 0 5 7 9 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)

The Players Championship

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Wins (1)

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Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1993 The Players Championship 1 shot lead −18 (64-68-71-67=270) 5 strokes Germany Bernhard Langer

Results timeline

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Tournament 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
The Players Championship 7 T22 T58 T24 DQ CUT T16 T9 8 1 CUT T37 T46 T24 T8 3 T3 T10 T9 CUT T42 T32 T27
  Win
  Top 10

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

Results in World Golf Championships

[edit]
Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Match Play T17 T33 R16 R16 R64 R64
Championship T4 T5 NT1 T15 T48
Invitational T3 T20 T29 T28 T42 T46

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Team appearances

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Amateur

Professional

See also

[edit]

References

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  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.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ Miller, Geoffrey (19 July 1982). "Watson Wins Open by One Shot". Ocala Star-Banner. Ocala, Florida. Associated Press. p. 1C.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ Gould, David (1999). Q-School Confidential: Inside Golf's Cruelest Tournament. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 271.
  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. Archived from the original on 26 May 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  7. ^ Apfelbaum, Jim, ed. (2007). The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-014-0.
  8. ^ "Nick Price claims first Champions Tour win". Golf Channel. Associated Press. 9 April 2009.
  9. ^ "Nick Price: Bio". nickprice.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013.
  10. ^ Williams, Jeff (June 2011). "Gentleman Nick". Cigar Aficionado. pp. 80–88.
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