GWD_MAY_16

NICK FALDO
and right, each one requiring a different
club, so aiming middle and then pushing
for the pin on the right means only one
thing: water.
After I made birdie at 13 after hitting
the best 2-iron of my life into the green,
I had a two-stroke lead. But that wasn’t
nearly enough of a cushion. Greg nearly
holed his chip for eagle on 15 and the
pressure was right back on me to make a
birdie and maintain a two-stroke lead. I’d
hit my 4-iron approach slightly fat, which
meant it had no spin and careered over the
green leaving a nightmare shot back.
Fortunately, it was a shot I had
practised a lot, working on a firm, steep
jab into the ball with 99 per cent of my
weight on the left foot and my right
shoulder as high as possible. Thankfully,
it came out perfectly, checking at the top
of the slope and then trickling down the
green to the hole.
‘Playing 17, I wanted to
maintain a four-shot lead
because that was the
only advantage that felt
secure going up the last’
It was pure matchplay again on 16 – a
case of finding the green first. I then
watched as Greg inexplicably dunked his
ball into the the lake. Playing 17, I wanted
to maintain a four-shot lead because that
was the only advantage that felt secure up
the last. My tee shot on 18 found the
bunker and I surprised myself how
I walked straight into the sand with a 9-iron
and just hit the shot without thinking. I’d
been so methodical all the way round and
there I was suddenly playing by instinct.
Rolling the 15-footer in for birdie is
typical when the pressure is off.
I remember I then looked over at Greg.
I knew what he was going to face, all the
questions and criticism. I just said to him,
‘I’m sorry, but I don’t know what to say.’
Then as I gave him a hug, I thought about
the media. ‘Don’t let the bastards get you
down,’ I told him.
I’ve avoided the scars of losing majors.
I nearly blew a four-shot lead at
Muirfield, but I didn’t. I wouldn’t like to
have handled that. I don’t think I could
have gone to speak to the press like Greg
did after that final round. I was talking to
some Aussies about it and they told me
that they’d gone to bed early because they
couldn’t see how Greg could lose. Then a
mate said in the morning that, ‘He’d won
by five’. ‘We knew Greg would do it,’ they
replied, only for their mate to correct
them, ‘Not Greg, Faldo’.
Interviews by Peter Masters & Nick Wright
HOW I HIT MY ‘CAREER’ 2-IRON
Faldo talks you through his now legendary 2-iron approach shot
into the par-5 13th green that set up a safe two-putt birdie.
“The drama down 13 was
intense. All week I’d had
a 5-wood in my bag
specifically for the second
shot into that green. I’d
worked out that, from 215
yards, this little wood was
ideal. But while it had
seemed perfect in
practice, I’d never had
that yardage in the
tournament. So what
happens? Fanny says,
‘You have 215 to the
middle’. I thought, ‘Stick
with the game plan’ and
asked for the 5-wood. But
something wasn’t right.
I tried to set up to the ball
only to have ‘Roses left,
creek right’ going
through my head. I
couldn’t get comfortable,
so I gave it back to Fanny.
This highlights how
strong I was mentally that
week. I just told myself to
stop and reassess. ‘Ok,
let’s go from the start.
How much to the front?’
It was 208, so I grabbed
the 2-iron and hit a career
shot. I’ll admit now that,
even then, negative
thoughts were lurking in
my mind. Before I started
my backswing, my last
thought was that the
water is low in the creek
and even if I do come up
short I should be safe on
the bank. The big thing
was not to go long.
I was scared of
going long.”
Amazingly,
Faldo can still fit
into the polo
shirt he wore 20
years ago.
“I washed it
specially for the
shoot” he told
us. “And look at
the wear spot
on the 2-iron!”
62 Golf World May 2016