Skip to main content
Nick Faldo

1990 / St Andrews

For one of the few times in his career, Nick Faldo arrived at a major not just hoping to win but expecting to.

He had already defended his Masters title and finished one stroke away from a play-off at the US Open. He knew his main rival would be Greg Norman, still officially the World No.1.

Norman opened with twin rounds of 66, while Faldo had a 67, thanks to holing a pitch-and-run through the Valley of Sin for an eagle two at the 18th, and then a 65.

The pair were tied on 12 under par, four strokes ahead of the field. The anticipation for their duel over the weekend was high but it never materialised.

Norman lost rhythm on his putting and limped to a 76 on Saturday. Playing alongside the Australian, Faldo marched on with a 67.

It was a defining psychological blow in their rivalry which would be eerily repeated in the final round of the 1996 Masters. Faldo’s total of 199 strokes for 54 holes was a new record.

He had a five-stroke lead on the field and although Payne Stewart got within two before driving into the Coffins at the 13th, Faldo eased ahead again. He had not been in a bunker all week until the fourth hole of the final round.

For the only time in his three Open triumphs, he could enjoy the acclamation from the gallery as he walked up the 18th fairway.

Where better to do it than on the Old Course? He won by five strokes from Stewart and Mark McNulty and set a new record score of 18 under par.

“It’s nice to have my baby back,” he said clutching the Claret Jug. “My stomach was churning. With a five-stroke lead, everybody expected me to win.”

Name
Finish
R1
R2
R3
R4
Total
Par
Sir Nick FALDO
1
67
65
67
71
270
-
Mark MCNULTY
2
74
68
68
65
275
-
Payne STEWART
2
68
68
68
71
275
-
Ian WOOSNAM
4
68
69
70
69
276
-
Jodie MUDD
4
72
66
72
66
276
-
6
68
72
64
73
277
-
6
66
66
76
69
277
-
David GRAHAM
8
72
71
70
66
279
-
Donnie HAMMOND
8
70
71
68
70
279
-
Steve PATE
8
70
68
72
69
279
-
Corey PAVIN
8
71
69
68
71
279
-
12
70
69
72
69
280
-
Paul BROADHURST
12
74
69
63
74
280
-
Robert GAMEZ
12
70
72
67
71
280
-
Tim SIMPSON
12
70
69
69
72
280
-
Frank NOBILO
16
72
67
68
74
281
-
16
71
67
71
72
281
-
Peter JACOBSEN
16
68
70
70
73
281
-
16
72
70
67
72
281
-
Steve JONES
16
72
67
72
70
281
-
Mark ROE
16
71
70
72
68
281
-
Eamonn DARCY
22
71
71
72
68
282
-
Craig PARRY
22
68
68
69
77
282
-
Jamie SPENCE
22
72
65
73
72
282
-
Jeff SLUMAN
25
72
70
70
71
283
-
25
70
67
71
75
283
-
25
71
70
70
72
283
-
Jose RIVERO
25
70
70
70
73
283
-
25
69
70
73
71
283
-
Christy O'CONNOR JR
25
68
72
71
72
283
-
Vicente FERNANDEZ
31
72
67
69
76
284
-
Mark JAMES
31
73
69
70
72
284
-
31
74
69
68
73
284
-
Ronan RAFFERTY
31
70
71
73
70
284
-
Mark MCCUMBER
31
69
74
69
72
284
-
Bryan NORTON
31
71
72
68
73
284
-
Greg POWERS
31
74
69
69
72
284
-
Larry MIZE
31
71
72
70
71
284
-
Mike HULBERT
39
70
70
70
75
285
-
Scott SIMPSON
39
73
70
69
73
285
-
Andy NORTH
39
71
71
72
71
285
-
Ray FLOYD
39
72
71
71
71
285
-
Mike REID
39
70
67
73
75
285
-
Don POOLEY
39
70
73
71
71
285
-
Naomichi OZAKI
39
71
71
74
69
285
-
Derrick COOPER
39
72
71
69
73
285
-
Sam TORRANCE
39
68
70
75
72
285
-
48
70
69
73
74
286
-
48
72
69
74
71
286
-
Paul AZINGER
48
73
68
68
77
286
-
Peter FOWLER
48
73
68
71
74
286
-
48
74
69
75
68
286
-
Michael ALLEN
53
66
75
73
73
287
-
Eduardo ROMERO
53
69
71
74
73
287
-
Hale IRWIN
53
72
68
75
72
287
-
John BLAND
53
71
72
72
72
287
-
David RAY
57
71
69
73
75
288
-
Anders SORENSEN
57
70
68
71
79
288
-
Jim RUTLEDGE
57
71
69
76
72
288
-
Michael CLAYTON
57
72
71
72
73
288
-
Blaine MCCALLISTER
57
71
68
75
74
288
-
Danny MIJOVIC
57
69
74
71
74
288
-
David CANIPE
63
72
70
69
78
289
-
Peter BAKER
63
73
68
75
73
289
-
Roger CHAPMAN
63
72
70
74
73
289
-
63
71
70
77
71
289
-
Martin POXON
63
68
72
74
75
289
-
David FEHERTY
68
74
69
71
76
290
-
Jorge BERENDT
68
75
66
72
77
290
-
Armando SAAVEDRA
70
72
69
75
75
291
-
Malcolm MACKENZIE
71
70
71
76
75
292
-
Jose Maria CANIZARES
72
72
70
78
76
296
-
Mike HARWOOD
M/C
72
72
-
-
-
M/C
Greg TURNER
M/C
69
75
-
-
-
M/C
Rick HARTMANN
M/C
73
71
-
-
-
M/C
Juan QUIROS
M/C
73
71
-
-
-
M/C
Wayne WESTNER
M/C
72
72
-
-
-
M/C
John MORGAN
M/C
74
70
-
-
-
M/C
Tom KITE
M/C
71
73
-
-
-
M/C
Jeff WOODLAND
M/C
73
71
-
-
-
M/C
M/C
73
71
-
-
-
M/C
Brian BARNES
M/C
73
71
-
-
-
M/C
M/C
72
73
-
-
-
M/C
David WILLIAMS
M/C
74
71
-
-
-
M/C
Andrew HARE
M/C
73
72
-
-
-
M/C
Howard CLARK
M/C
73
72
-
-
-
M/C
Lanny WADKINS
M/C
71
74
-
-
-
M/C
M/C
72
73
-
-
-
M/C
Curtis STRANGE
M/C
74
71
-
-
-
M/C
Tony NASH
M/C
73
72
-
-
-
M/C
David FROST
M/C
72
73
-
-
-
M/C
Paul MAYO
M/C
73
72
-
-
-
M/C
Andrew OLDCORN
M/C
74
71
-
-
-
M/C
Chris MOODY
M/C
71
74
-
-
-
M/C
Bill GLASSON
M/C
72
73
-
-
-
M/C
Patrick HALL
M/C
74
71
-
-
-
M/C
Mikael KRANTZ
M/C
72
73
-
-
-
M/C
M/C
71
74
-
-
-
M/C
Stephen BENNETT
M/C
74
71
-
-
-
M/C
M/C
74
71
-
-
-
M/C
Bob ESTES
M/C
73
72
-
-
-
M/C
Paul CURRY
M/C
72
74
-
-
-
M/C
Peter HEDBLOM
M/C
75
71
-
-
-
M/C
Miguel MARTIN
M/C
74
72
-
-
-
M/C
Kenny KNOX
M/C
74
72
-
-
-
M/C
Bob TWAY
M/C
73
73
-
-
-
M/C
Wayne PLAYER
M/C
76
70
-
-
-
M/C
M/C
71
75
-
-
-
M/C
Ross DRUMMOND
M/C
75
71
-
-
-
M/C
Tommy ARMOUR III
M/C
74
73
-
-
-
M/C
Peter SENIOR
M/C
72
75
-
-
-
M/C
M/C
73
74
-
-
-
M/C
Des SMYTH
M/C
73
74
-
-
-
M/C
Peter MITCHELL
M/C
72
75
-
-
-
M/C
Philip HARRISON
M/C
72
75
-
-
-
M/C
Denis DURNIAN
M/C
73
74
-
-
-
M/C
Gordon BRAND JR
M/C
77
70
-
-
-
M/C
Scott HOCH
M/C
71
76
-
-
-
M/C
John HUSTON
M/C
77
70
-
-
-
M/C
Jose GERVAS
M/C
78
69
-
-
-
M/C
Masashi OZAKI
M/C
72
75
-
-
-
M/C
M/C
73
74
-
-
-
M/C
Richard BOXALL
M/C
78
70
-
-
-
M/C
Paul ARCHBOLD
M/C
78
70
-
-
-
M/C
Davis LOVE III
M/C
73
75
-
-
-
M/C
David JONES
M/C
74
74
-
-
-
M/C
Ken GREEN
M/C
73
75
-
-
-
M/C
Ken TRIMBLE
M/C
75
73
-
-
-
M/C
Jeff HAWKES
M/C
75
73
-
-
-
M/C
Brian JONES
M/C
72
76
-
-
-
M/C
Stewart GINN
M/C
73
75
-
-
-
M/C
David A RUSSELL
M/C
75
73
-
-
-
M/C
Brett OGLE
M/C
78
70
-
-
-
M/C
Philip WALTON
M/C
74
75
-
-
-
M/C
Chris PATTON
M/C
74
75
-
-
-
M/C
Gavin LEVENSON
M/C
75
74
-
-
-
M/C
Ossie MOORE
M/C
74
75
-
-
-
M/C
Mark MOULAND
M/C
76
73
-
-
-
M/C
Jose DAVILA
M/C
74
75
-
-
-
M/C
Yasunobu KURAMOTO
M/C
77
72
-
-
-
M/C
Yutaka HAGAWA
M/C
78
71
-
-
-
M/C
Andrew MURRAY
M/C
74
76
-
-
-
M/C
Russell WEIR
M/C
77
73
-
-
-
M/C
Keith WATERS
M/C
76
74
-
-
-
M/C
Chip BECK
M/C
76
75
-
-
-
M/C
Isao AOKI
M/C
73
78
-
-
-
M/C
Paul HOAD
M/C
75
76
-
-
-
M/C
M/C
76
75
-
-
-
M/C
Joe HIGGINS
M/C
78
73
-
-
-
M/C
Graham FARR
M/C
82
70
-
-
-
M/C
Paul WAY
M/C
75
77
-
-
-
M/C
Rolf MUNTZ
M/C
78
74
-
-
-
M/C
Rodger DAVIS
M/C
82
71
-
-
-
M/C
Craig STADLER
M/C
82
71
-
-
-
M/C
Paul LYONS
M/C
77
76
-
-
-
M/C
Ricardo GONZALEZ
M/C
75
78
-
-
-
M/C

Latest from the open