Nick Price


Nicholas Raymond Leige Price is a Zimbabwean professional golfer who has won three major championships in his career: the PGA Championship twice 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. 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. He is at present a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe. 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 is married to Sue and has three children. They live in Hobe Sound, Florida. Price's nephew Ray Price is a former national cricketer for the Zimbabwe national cricket team.

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. 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.
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.
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.", 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.

Professional wins (48)

PGA Tour wins (18)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
128 Aug 1983World Series of Golf−10 4 strokes Jack Nicklaus
25 May 1991GTE Byron Nelson Classic−10 1 stroke Craig Stadler
38 Sep 1991Canadian Open−15 1 stroke David Edwards
416 Aug 1992PGA Championship−6 3 strokes John Cook, Nick Faldo,
Jim Gallagher Jr., Gene Sauers
525 Oct 1992H.E.B. Texas Open−21 Playoff Steve Elkington
628 Mar 1993The Players Championship−18 5 strokes Bernhard Langer
727 Jun 1993Canon Greater Hartford Open−9 1 stroke Roger Maltbie, Dan Forsman
84 Jul 1993Sprint Western Open−19 5 strokes Greg Norman
91 Aug 1993Federal Express St. Jude Classic−18 3 strokes Jeff Maggert, Rick Fehr
1013 Mar 1994Honda Classic−12 1 stroke Craig Parry
1130 May 1994Southwestern Bell Colonial−14 Playoff Scott Simpson
123 Jul 1994Motorola Western Open −11 1 stroke Greg Kraft
1317 Jul 1994The Open Championship−12 1 stroke Jesper Parnevik
1414 Aug 1994PGA Championship −11 6 strokes Corey Pavin
1511 Sep 1994Bell Canadian Open −13 1 stroke Mark Calcavecchia
1620 Apr 1997MCI Classic−15 6 strokes Brad Faxon, Jesper Parnevik
172 Aug 1998FedEx St. Jude Classic −16 Playoff Jeff Sluman
1819 May 2002MasterCard Colonial −13 5 strokes Kenny Perry, David Toms

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11986Western Open Fred Couples, David Frost,
Tom Kite
Kite won with birdie on first extra hole
21992H.E.B. Texas Open Steve ElkingtonWon with par on second extra hole
31994Southwestern Bell Colonial Scott SimpsonWon with birdie on first extra hole
41995NEC World Series of Golf Billy Mayfair, Greg NormanNorman won with birdie on first extra hole
51998FedEx St. Jude Classic Jeff SlumanWon with birdie on second extra hole
62000Advil Western Open Robert AllenbyLost to par on first extra hole

European Tour wins (7)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
131 Aug 1980Swiss Open−21 6 strokes Manuel Calero
26 Oct 1985Lancome Trophy−13 Playoff Mark James
316 Aug 1992PGA Championship−6 3 strokes John Cook, Nick Faldo,
Jim Gallagher Jr., Gene Sauers
417 Jul 1994The Open Championship−12 1 stroke Jesper Parnevik
514 Aug 1994PGA Championship −11 6 strokes Corey Pavin
616 Feb 1997Dimension Data Pro-Am1−20 8 strokes David Frost
723 Feb 1997Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship1−19 Playoff David Frost

1Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour
European Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11985Lancome Trophy Mark JamesWon with par on third extra hole
21997Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship David FrostWon with par on first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

Sunshine Tour wins (11)

1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
Sunshine Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11997Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship David FrostWon with par on first extra hole

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (2)

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11992Air New Zealand Shell Open Lucas ParsonsWon with par on first extra hole

Other European wins (1)

Other playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11992PGA Grand Slam of Golf Tom KiteWon with par on first extra hole
21998Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge Tiger WoodsWon with birdie on fifth extra hole
32001CVS Charity Classic
Brad Faxon and Gary PlayerWon with birdie on first extra hole
42006CVS/pharmacy Charity Classic
Brad Faxon and Mike WeirWon with birdie on second extra hole

Champions Tour wins (4)

Champions Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
12009Principal Charity Classic Fred Funk, Mark McNultyMcNulty won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Price eliminated with birdie on second hole
22010Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
John Cook and Joey SindelarWon with par on second extra hole

Playoff record

Asian Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
12002Macau Open Zhang LianweiLost to par on fifth extra hole

Challenge Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
11991Zimbabwe Open Grant Turner, Keith WatersWaters won with birdie on fifth extra hole
Price eliminated by birdie on first hole

Major championships

Wins (3)

Results timeline

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

Summary

Wins (1)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut

DQ = disqualified

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships

1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Team appearances

Amateur
Professional