Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean former professional golfer who has won three major championships in his career: the PGA Championship twice (in 1992 and 1994) 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.
Early life Price was born in Durban, South Africa. His parents were originally British. His father was English and his mother Welsh. His early life was spent in Rhodesia. For secondary school, he attended Prince Edward School in Salisbury where he captained the golf team. As a teenager, he participated in the 1975 Rhodesian Dunlop Masters and Holiday Inns Invitational, official events on the Southern African Tour.
After his schooling he served in the Rhodesian Air Force during that country's Bush War.
Professional career 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's first win was at the 1979 Asseng TV Challenge Series on the Southern African Tour. He won his first tournament outside of South Africa at the 1980 Swiss Open on the European Tour. 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. Price also won the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit for the 1982/83 season.
Price earned PGA Tour membership after finishing 3rd place at 1982 PGA Tour Qualifying School. 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. 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 would have won the Southern African Tour's Order of Merit in 1996/97 if he had met the minimum number of tournaments. In 1993 and 1997, Price was awarded the Vardon Trophy; it is given annually by the PGA of America to the player with the lowest adjusted scoring average with a minimum of 60 rounds.
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 (who in 1996 tied Price's Augusta National course record of 63).
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.
Personal life Price is married to Sue and has three children. They live in Hobe Sound, Florida. His nephew Ray Price is a former national cricketer for the Zimbabwe national cricket team.
Awards and honors
In 2003, Price was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In 2005, he was voted to be given the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the USGA in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. In 2011, he was bestowed with 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."
Professional wins (48) PGA Tour wins (18) LegendMajor championships (3) Players Championships (1)Other PGA Tour (14) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up128 Aug 1983World Series of Golf−10 (66-68-69-67=270)4 strokes Jack Nicklaus25 May 1991GTE Byron Nelson Classic−10 (68-64-70-68=270)1 stroke Craig Stadler38 Sep 1991Canadian Open−15 (71-69-67-66=273)1 stroke David Edwards416 Aug 1992PGA Championship−6 (70-70-68-70=278)3 strokes John Cook, Nick Faldo, Jim Gallagher Jr., Gene Sauers525 Oct 1992H.E.B. Texas Open−21 (67-62-68-66=263)Playoff Steve Elkington628 Mar 1993The Players Championship−18 (64-68-71-67=270)5 strokes Bernhard Langer727 Jun 1993Canon Greater Hartford Open−9 (67-70-69-65=271)1 stroke Roger Maltbie, Dan Forsman84 Jul 1993Sprint Western Open−19 (64-71-67-67=269)5 strokes Greg Norman91 Aug 1993Federal Express St. Jude Classic−18 (69-65-66-66=266)3 strokes Jeff Maggert, Rick Fehr1013 Mar 1994Honda Classic−12 (70-67-73-66=276)1 stroke Craig Parry1130 May 1994Southwestern Bell Colonial−14 (65-70-67-64=266)Playoff Scott Simpson123 Jul 1994Motorola Western Open (2)−11 (67-67-72-71=277)1 stroke Greg Kraft1317 Jul 1994The Open Championship−12 (69-66-67-66=268)1 stroke Jesper Parnevik1414 Aug 1994PGA Championship (2)−11 (67-65-70-67=269)6 strokes Corey Pavin1511 Sep 1994Bell Canadian Open (2)−13 (67-72-68-68=275)1 stroke Mark Calcavecchia1620 Apr 1997MCI Classic−15 (65-69-69-66=269)6 strokes Brad Faxon, Jesper Parnevik172 Aug 1998FedEx St. Jude Classic (2)−16 (65-67-70-66=268)Playoff Jeff Sluman1819 May 2002MasterCard Colonial (2)−13 (69-65-66-67=267)5 strokes Kenny Perry, David Toms
PGA Tour playoff record (3–3) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11986Western Open Fred Couples, David Frost, Tom KiteKite won with birdie on first extra hole21992H.E.B. Texas Open Steve ElkingtonWon with par on second extra hole31994Southwestern Bell Colonial Scott SimpsonWon with birdie on first extra hole41995NEC World Series of Golf Billy Mayfair, Greg NormanNorman won with birdie on first extra hole51998FedEx St. Jude Classic Jeff SlumanWon with birdie on second extra hole62000Advil Western Open Robert AllenbyLost to par on first extra hole
European Tour wins (7) LegendMajor championships (3)Other European Tour (4) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up131 Aug 1980Swiss Open−21 (65-69-67-66=267)6 strokes Manuel Calero26 Oct 1985Trophée Lancôme−13 (66-71-67-71=275)Playoff Mark James316 Aug 1992PGA Championship−6 (70-70-68-70=278)3 strokes John Cook, Nick Faldo, Jim Gallagher Jr., Gene Sauers417 Jul 1994The Open Championship−12 (69-66-67-66=268)1 stroke Jesper Parnevik514 Aug 1994PGA Championship (2)−11 (67-65-70-67=269)6 strokes Corey Pavin616 Feb 1997Dimension Data Pro-Am1−20 (67-66-66-69=268)8 strokes David Frost723 Feb 1997Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship1−19 (67-66-70-66=269)Playoff David Frost 1Co-sanctioned by the Southern Africa Tour
European Tour playoff record (2–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11985Trophée Lancôme Mark JamesWon with par on third extra hole21997Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship David FrostWon with par on first extra hole
Japan Golf Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up112 Sep 1999Suntory Open−8 (67-71-70-68=276)1 stroke Shigeki Maruyama
Southern Africa Tour wins (12) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up125 Oct 1979Asseng TV Challenge Series John Bland, Allan Henning, Phil Simmons214 Feb 1981SAB South African Masters−7 (69-75-67-70=281)4 strokes Mark McNulty313 Feb 1982Sigma Vaal Reefs Open−13 (70-66-64-71=275)5 strokes John Bland, Denis Watson412 Jan 1985ICL International−20 (67-66-69-66=268)1 stroke Gavan Levenson531 Jan 1993ICL International (2)−15 (66-72-65-70=273)2 strokes Mark McNulty, Bruce Vaughan623 Jan 1994ICL International (3)−21 (61-69-65-72=267)9 strokes David Frost, Bruce Vaughan726 Nov 1995Zimbabwe Open−22 (70-65-66-65=266)1 stroke Brenden Pappas816 Feb 1997Dimension Data Pro-Am1−20 (67-66-66-69=268)8 strokes David Frost923 Feb 1997Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship1−19 (67-66-70-66=269)Playoff David Frost1030 Nov 1997Zimbabwe Open (2)−19 (68-67-66-68=269)2 strokes Mark McNulty, Brenden Pappas1122 Feb 1998Dimension Data Pro-Am (2)−12 (69-67-68-72=276)5 strokes Mark McNulty1229 Nov 1998Zimbabwe Open (3)−17 (69-68-71-63=271)5 strokes Tjaart van der Walt 1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
Southern Africa Tour playoff record (1–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11984Goodyear Classic John BlandLost to birdie on first extra hole21997Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship David FrostWon with par on first extra hole
PGA Tour of Australasia wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up126 Nov 1989West End South Australian Open−15 (70-71-67-69=277)5 strokes Lucien Tinkler, Paul Foley28 Nov 1992Air New Zealand Shell Open−9 (70-65-73-63=271)Playoff Lucas Parsons
PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11992Air New Zealand Shell Open Lucas ParsonsWon with par on first extra hole
Other European wins (1) 1981 San Remo Masters (Italy)
Other wins (8) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up111 Nov 1992PGA Grand Slam of Golf−7 (70-67=137)Playoff Tom Kite25 Dec 1993Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge−24 (67-66-66-65=264)12 strokes Mark McNulty312 Nov 1995Hassan II Golf Trophy−6 (69-71-74-72=286)2 strokes Roger Chapman47 Dec 1997Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge (2)−13 (71-68-68-68=275)1 stroke Ernie Els, Davis Love III56 Dec 1998Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge (3)−15 (67-68-72-66=273)Playoff Tiger Woods610 Jul 2001CVS Charity Classic(with Mark Calcavecchia)−15 (60-59=119)Playoff Brad Faxon and Gary Player720 Jun 2006CVS/pharmacy Charity Classic (2)(with Tim Clark)−19 (61-62=123)Playoff Brad Faxon and Mike Weir823 Jun 2009CVS Caremark Charity Classic (3)(with David Toms)−16 (66-60=126)3 strokes Laura Diaz and Matt Kuchar
Other playoff record (4–0) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11992PGA Grand Slam of Golf Tom KiteWon with par on first extra hole21998Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge Tiger WoodsWon with birdie on fifth extra hole32001CVS Charity Classic(with Mark Calcavecchia) Brad Faxon and Gary PlayerWon with birdie on first extra hole42006CVS/pharmacy Charity Classic(with Tim Clark) Brad Faxon and Mike WeirWon with birdie on second extra hole
Champions Tour wins (4) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up119 Apr 2009Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am−9 (66-67-71=204)2 strokes Larry Nelson225 Apr 2010Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf(with Mark O'Meara)−28 (62-64-62=188)Playoff John Cook and Joey Sindelar36 Jun 2010Principal Charity Classic−14 (67-65-67=199)4 strokes Tommy Armour III413 Mar 2011Toshiba Classic−17 (60-68-68=196)1 stroke Mark Wiebe
Champions Tour playoff record (1–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult12009Principal Charity Classic Fred Funk, Mark McNulty McNulty won with birdie on fourth extra holePrice eliminated by birdie on second hole22010Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf(with Mark O'Meara) John Cook and Joey SindelarWon with par on second extra hole
Playoff record Asian PGA Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12002Macau Open Zhang LianweiLost to par on fifth extra hole
Challenge Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult11991Zimbabwe Open Grant Turner, Keith WatersWaters won with birdie on fifth extra holePrice eliminated by par on first hole
Major championships
Wins (3)