On the 18 July, 1957, professional golfer Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo, MBE,  was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.

Faldo became hooked on golf at the age of 14, having never ‘even picked up a golf club’ after watching Jack Nicklaus play in the 1971 Masters on his parent’s ‘new colour’ television.

Faldo qualified to play in the 1974 English Amateur Championship at Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire. A year later, in 1975, he won both the English Amateur at Royal Lytham St. Annes, and the British Youths Open Amateur Championship.

Faldo’s won a golf scholarship to the University of Houston, where he attended for just ten weeks, before deciding it was not for him

After leaving the school, Faldo turned professional in 1976 and joined the European Professional Golfers Association, finishing top of the Order of Merit in 1983, with five European Tour victories.

in July 1987, Faldo claimed his first major title at The Open Championship at Muirfield. After posting rounds of 68 (-3) and 69 (-2), Faldo emerged through stormy conditions with an even-par 71, entering the final round one stroke behind American Paul Azinger. Faldo parred every hole in his final round for a one shot victory.

Faldo won his second major championship at the 1989 Masters. Starting his fourth round five shots off the lead held by Ben Crenshaw, Faldo’s final round of 65 (consisting of eight birdies, nine pars and one bogey) was the low round of the tournament and enabled him to get into a playoff with Scott Hoch.

Faldo is one of the most successful Ryder Cup players ever, having won 25 points and having represented the European Team a record 11 times. He played a key role in making Europe competitive in the event. Having won 23 of his matches, lost 19, and halved 4, he also holds the European record for having played the most Ryder Cup matches. Faldo was selected as captain of the European Ryder Cup team in 2008, the 37th Ryder Cup which was won 16½ – 11½ by Team USA to end the streak of three successive victories for Team Europe

A top player of his era, he was ranked No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for a total of 97 weeks.His 41 professional wins include 30 victories on the European Tour and six major championships, three Open Championships (1987, 1990, 1992) and three Masters Championships (1989, 1990, 1996).

In 1991, Faldo launched his golf course design practice Faldo Design, which has designed or remodelled dozens of courses spread across several continents

Faldo was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1989 and inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1997. And in 2000, Faldo was ranked 18th greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine.

He was awarded the MBE in the 1988 New Year Honours , and made a Knight Bachelor in the 2009 Birthday Honours for his services to golf.

Faldo was announced as the 2014 recipient of the Payne Stewart Award in September 2014

Faldo has since become a television pundit for major golf championships. In 2006, he became the lead golf analyst for CBS Sports.