Back at the scene of his most impressive British Open triumph, Nick Faldo claimed yesterday that after a protracted slump, he still has it within him to win one more major championship. And in his tireless quest of the old magic, he has enlisted the help of a legendary figure in the game, along with a caddie who guided him towards an Irish Open title.
Sam Snead, who is also a former St Andrews champion having won on the Old Course in 1946, is back here for a special get-together of past British Open winners tomorrow afternoon. Earlier this season, he had a two-day meeting with Faldo at his home in West Virginia.
Among the truisms he imparted to the then troubled Englishman, who is 43 today, was that "golf is the hardest of all sports to play". Then he went and spoiled it all by adding that he didn't know what it was like to play the game badly.
In the event, with Faldo we were observing a player who seems somehow liberated by encouraging recent results. This comprised a seventh-place finish behind Tiger Woods in the US Open at Pebble Beach last month and a share of ninth place behind Ernie Els at Loch Lomond last Saturday.
Though he wasn't prepared to push his luck at such an early stage of the recovery process, Faldo still felt confident enough to be self-critical. "I agree that I can look intense but that's the way I concentrate on what I have to do," he said. He went on: "Obviously Tiger (Woods) is the man to beat here. And I don't care about him beating Jack's (Nicklaus) records, but if he beats the 18-under which I set in 1990, I'll be very upset."
Faldo's triumph here will be remembered for his aggregate of 270; his record score of 65 for an Open second round; his record final 36 holes of 132 (67, 65) and his stunning dominance of Greg Norman on the Saturday, when, as the Australian's playing partner, he outscored him by 67 to 76.
"In 1990, I came here with the intention of winning, but it's obviously different now," he admitted. "In fact I've won majors both ways. I had no intentions of winning the Masters in 1996 (when he made up a sixstroke lead by Norman). Now I have the opportunity to go out and enjoy myself. Having originally decided to retain Swedish psychologist Kjell Enhager, who caddied for him at Loch Lomond, Faldo decided that the subtleties of St Andrews demanded someone with a lot more experience on the bag. So, late yesterday afternoon he phoned Australian Graham Heinrich, who worked with him at Killarney in 1992.
Heinrich, who is now the established yardage expert for tour caddies, responded to the call.
Faldo also came up with a solution to what he expects will be the continued dominance of Woods. "By the year 2005, he will be playing blindfolded at our request," he said with a smile. And for the first time in recent years, one sensed he was genuinely at peace with the world.
