Sir Nick returns to his golfing first love

Been there, done that, got the six Majors on his CV. But Sir Nick Faldo has no doubt where has given him his fondest memories from a stellar career in golf.

And he’ll be back there on Thursday, when he celebrates his 56th birthday by teeing it up at the start of The Open Championship at Muirfield, the scene for two of his three Claret Jug successes.

“I was doing a thing for a sponsor, and was asked how would I build my perfect golf course,” Faldo reveals.

“I said you would want this, you would want that, you’d want Californian coastline, trees, and beautiful fairways and greens with deep bunkers here and there.

“Then I was asked me for my fondest memories and before I knew it, I was back at Muirfield in 1987.

“Obviously I hold the course very dear, not only because I won two Opens there, but because the 18th hole is a very special spot in my career.

“It gave me my first Major and jump-started my career. So for that reason, it is probably the most emotional memory I’ve got.”

Faldo is under no illusions about finding some of his old magic on the East Lothian links.

“I missed the cut the last three times I played in The Open, so I have no preconceived notions about turning the clock back,” he laughs.

“We all know how Muirfield is a good, honest, difficult test of golf.

“Jack Nicklaus thought so too. He was so impressed with Muirfield, he named the course he built in his hometown after it.

“It tests every aspect of the game, and you have to do everything right.

“The winner will have to be good off the tee, good with his long irons, and have good mid and good short game.

“The greens are quite unusual because they are so natural.

“They don’t have contours. They are ‘ripply’, ‘breaky’ if you get what I mean because they were probably laid down moons ago.

“Then throw in the weather!

“You only have to cast your mind back to the last time it was played there to see just how the course has all sorts of surprises in store for players who have no real experience of links golf.”

That said, Faldo does not belong to the school of thought that lack of playing the purest form of golf precludes a winner coming from that ilk.

“You cannot say that with names on the Claret Jug such as Mark Calcavecchia, Todd Hamilton, Ben Curtis and David Duval, to mention just a few.

“They could play the game of golf, and they figured out the vagaries that links golf produces.

“But I will say that I can’t see the winner this year coming from anybody out of the top 20 or 30 in the world.”

Faldo never showed any emotion en route to winning his six Majors, always concentrating on getting the job done.

But hoisting the Claret Jug? That’s a different story!

He admits: “To win at St Andrews and Muirfield twice there is nothing to top the feelings you get doing that.”