Faldo and Seve
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It was a double Royal celebration for golf this week when six times major champion Nick Faldo officially became'Sir Nick' when he was knighted at Windsor Castle by the Queen, whil Seve Ballesteros has also been awarded honorary membership of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
The 52-year-old Faldo received the honour both for his achievements in professional golf and his support of young golfers with his Faldo Series of worldwide amateur tournaments.
"I had dreams as a young boy of being a golfer and winning tournaments, but you don't dream of this," said an emotional Faldo. "It was an unbelievable experience.
"The Queen said: 'You've been in the game a long time'," Faldo revealed. "I said: 'Yes, ma'am - for 30 years. I played my first round of golf on my 14th birthday.'"
Faldo's major victories - three Opens and three US Masters - came between 1987 and 1996 when he dominated the sport. Only the late Sir Henry Cotton has previously received a knighthood among professional golfers. Faldo also won 30 times on the European Tour and twice claimed the order of merit.
This week Faldo is in India, to inspect the spectacular site for a new course his design company is building near Pune. He also plans to open a new Faldo golf academy.
"India has got a lot of potential and with guys like Jeev Milkha Singh doing well on the Tour, the youngsters have someone to look up to," he said adding that young golfers from other centres of the Nick Faldo academy will join an exchange programme.
