Friday 11 October 2013

Faldo makes Champions Debut

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Six-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo will make his American debut on the Champions Tour in the SAS Championship in Cary, North Carolina, on Thursday.

The 56-year-old played in this year's Open Championship at Muirfield after a three-year break, but missed the cut after rounds of 78 and 79.

"I think I'm here to find out how well could I play," said Faldo, who added he has played only 50 rounds since 2010.

Another rookie in the field is Colin Montgomerie, who turned 50 in July.

Faldo has appeared in two previous British Senior Open tournaments, finishing in a share of 14th at Muirfield in 2007 and tied for 38th at Sunningdale in 2009.

This year he entered The Open at Muirfield for the first time since missing the cut at St Andrews in 2010, but finished 15 over for two rounds.

"If you saw Muirfield, it was impossible,'' said Faldo, who won three Open titles and three Masters, the last of which was in 1996.

"I enjoyed the process of training for the Open Championship and was happy with my effort after limited training.

"This is the first time I've entertained thoughts of committing myself and playing again. I look forward to the preparation and testing my competitive skills again.

"That's the biggest thrill of this game, going out there and feeling really nervous, apprehensive, everything, but you know you can go out and play your heart out, that's what you're trying to do. So, if we can rekindle that a bit here, it will be fun."

Faldo's last individual tournament victory was the 1997 Nissan Open at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles and he is now based in the United States, where he is the lead analyst for CBS and the Golf Channel.

Asked about his aims for this week, Faldo - who will play alongside Americans Tom Kite and Kenny Perry in the opening round at the Prestonwood Country Club - said: "I hope I can get my name on that leaderboard and see what it feels like again. That was always the thrill in my playing career.'"

Nick Faldo's major record
Masters: Won in 1989, 1990 & 1996
US Open: 2nd,in 1988
The Open: Won in 1987, 1990 & 1992
PGA: Tied for 2nd in 1992


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