Nick Faldo

Faldo's golf prowess was soon noticed in the United States, where he was given a golf scholarship to the University of Houston. He attended for ten weeks, but he felt the distraction of going to school hurt his golf game. After leaving the school, Faldo then turned professional in 1976 and joined the European Professional Golfers Association.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Faldo did decently as a professional. He won his first tournament in 1977, the Skol Lager, and was named rookie of the year for the European PGA Tour. That year also began his association with the Ryder Cup, a tournament that pitted Americans against Europeans and was played every two years. Faldo was a member of every team from 1977-97, amassing more points in the competition than anyone in history.

Faldo won a number of tournaments in the early 1980s, including the British PGA Championships in 1978, 1980, and 1981, the Haig Tournament Players Championship in 1982, and the French Open and the Martini Invitational in 1983. In 1983 and 1984, he won the Car Care Plan Invitational. While Faldo did well at these tournaments, he failed to win any of the majors (the U.S. Open, the British Open, PGA Championship, and Masters). In 1984, Faldo was leading in the final round of the Masters, but lost on the front nine in the final round. These kind of losses led the British press to dub him "Nicky Fold-0."