Sir Nick Faldo might have won three green jackets but prior to winning his very first in 1989, he very much let the mind-games of Jack Nicklaus play with his emotions.
Faldo came into the event in ’89 having already won The Open in 1987, while he’d also finished 2nd in the 1988 US Open to very much announce himself to US audiences.
Going into the tournament, Faldo knew full well there was a stacked field to see off, with the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Gary Player and Greg Norman just four of the huge names in front of him.
Indeed, speaking of Jack Nicklaus, it is he who seemed to affect the mindset of Faldo midway through his tournament.
How Jack Nicklaus got into the mind of Sir Nick Faldo at the 1989 Masters
Going into the Masters in ’89, Sir Nick Faldo was very much one of the great British hopes and he knew that if he played well, he’d have a chance.
Faldo had won twice on the European Tour the year prior, while his win at The Open the year before that had shown he could do it on the biggest stages.
Of course, Faldo was still a small name compared to some out at Augusta National and recalling a moment with Jack Nicklaus prior to teeing off, Faldo revealed how the 18-time major winner got into his head.
“Now in the generation we are in now, The Masters is the biggest tournament in the world, it’s huge. So in 89 I went there and I’m playing really well, Jack’s there so I thought I’d get a glimpse you know and Jack says ‘how you doing?’. So I said ‘well you know, I’m playing great but I don’t know whether to let it happen to make it happen’,” Faldo revealed.
“So he says, ‘I know what you mean’, and carries on putting and walks off and I’m like ‘Hello!! Fill in the blank space which one is it?’. So obviously I let it go and I’m, six under through 27 holes and I’m leading. Maybe by three, I’m not sure.
And then I started thinking about it to make it happen, and I then played the next 27 holes in nine over par!”
How Sir Nick Faldo won the 1989 Masters
As we all know by now, Faldo would go on to win the Masters three times, including retaining the year after in 1990.
However, it could have been so different had he not showed superb powers of recovery in that ’89 event.
As Faldo mentions, he was flying over 27 holes but on the back nine of his second round and then the third round in particular, he stuttered big time.
Faldo’s scores of 73 and 77 in rounds two and three saw him sitting a whopping four shots behind Ben Crenshaw heading into Sunday. However, it was here where Faldo showed what he was all about.
The Englishman shot an impressive final round of 65 while Crenshaw could only manage a 71 and that was enough to send Faldo into a playoff with Scott Hoch, who had shot 69 to climb the leaderboard.
In the playoff, both players faltered on the 10th hole in sudden death, with Hoch in particular blowing his chance by three-putting with Faldo already in for bogey.
On the 11th and 2nd playoff hole, Hoch could do nothing as Faldo made a long birdie putt to seal the deal and make it major win number two.
Looking back, it was very much a tale of big moments going Faldo’s way and who knows, without this win, he might never have come back and won again.
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