For a moment, Price ruled the world
ZIMBABWE has produced many great sports ambassadors, who have flown the national flag with pride, on the global stage.
Golfer Nick Price, a former world number one and three- time major champion, stands tall, when the country’s sporting luminaries, in the last four decades, are mentioned.
He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.
Price spent 44 weeks at number one, on the Official World Golf Rankings, during the ‘ 90s.
He has 18 PGA Tour victories and 24 international wins.
He finished in the top 50, on the money list, for 17 consecutive seasons and was ranked in the Top 50 in the world, for 17 years and five months.
Price represented Zimbabwe twice, at the World Cup, in 1978 and 1993.
He played eight times in the Dunhill Cup and five times for the International Team in the Presidents Cup and, after his retirement, went on to captain the team three times.
Now 64, Price has, naturally, slowed down and is based in Florida, United States, where he lives with his wife, Sue, and children Gregory, Robyn Frances and Kimberly Rae.
After a decade of collaborating, with a variety of architects, he formed his own design company, Nick Price Golf Course Design, which designed golf courses in South Africa, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Zimbabwe, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Portugal.
His name has also popped up in international publications, this week, in the build up to the US Masters, which tees off Although he never won the tournament, his course record has stood for the past 35 years.
Price shot a course record 63, in 1986, and this was only equalled by Australian, Greg Norman, 10 years later.
The former Prince Edward schoolboy had many career milestones, having been initiated into the game, caddying for his brother, as an eight- year- old.
Born in Durban, South Africa, he moved to Zimbabwe, at a young age, and grew up in this country.
He was introduced to golf by his brother, Tim, who gave him his first club, a lefthanded 5- iron.
“We were issued a golf passport, a small blue book that kept a record of your handicap,’’ he told GolfDigest recently.
“You were taught from a young age about the rules, how to keep a scorecard and the correct etiquette.
“And, boy, did we make sure the course was looked after. You never walked past an unraked bunker, because the juniors would definitely be blamed.”
Price had a great innings, as an amateur, and he accomplished most of the things he wanted to, including qualifying for the British Open.
In 1974, he won the World Junior title, the South African Slazenger junior title and the Glen Anile. He represented the country several times and played in the Eisenhower Trophy.
He turned professional, in 1977, at the age of 20, and applied to join the South African PGA.
“I have always modelled my game on the same lines as a professional and tried to think like a professional on the golf course,’’ he told this newspaper.
He went on to established himself as a promising newcomer, first on the Southern African Tour and European PGA Tour, where he won four tournaments, in 1982.
Price won his first tournament, outside South Africa, at the 1980 Swiss Open.
He was still relatively unknown, when he finished tied for second place with Peter Oosterhuis, one shot behind Tom Watson at the 1982 Open Championship, after having hed a three-shot lead with six holes to go. Price earned PGA Tour membership after finishing third place at 1982 PGA Tour Qualifying School.
In 1983, Price won his first PGA Tour event with a four- shot triumph over the legendary Jack Nicklaus, at the World Series of Golf.
His first Major came in 1992, at the PGA Championships. By the mid-’ 90s, Price was the best player in the world and, in 1994, he won two back- to- back Majors.
Price was the 2005 recipient of the Bob Jones Award, the USGA’s highest honour.