Nick Faldo is a six-time major champion. He is a member of the 63 Club, a group of less than 30 players to ever shoot 63 in any round of a men's major. He also has shot a record 36-hole score of 130 to open a major championship (1992 Open Championship), which is a record he shares with Martin Kaymer (2014 U.S. Open) and Brandt Snedeker (2012 Open Championship).
So when Jordan Spieth was blitzing Augusta National during the first two days of the Masters, the Englishman was worried that his records might be replaced by those of the young Texan. Faldo wasn't coy on Wednesday at a luncheon in Ohio that he was hoping the 21-year-old would come up just short of those marks.
“Day 1, he’s in the middle of the 15th fairway at 8 under par, and my fellow announcers were all, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if he shoots a 62?’ And I’m thinking, Jack (Nicklaus) and I are both in the 63 club; that’s the best round in any major," Faldo said, with Nicklaus alongside.
“So I’m sitting in my (tower) at 18, saying, ‘No, it wouldn’t be nice.’ He takes that 4-wood out, and I know it’s the wrong club and I’m going, ‘Hit it! Hit it! Hit it!’ And he did, and he hits it over the green and three-putts (for bogey), so that was that.”
The bogey at No. 15 cost Spieth the possibility of shooting the first 62 in a men's major. He carded 8-under 64 on Day 1, then continued the barrage on Day 2, shooting 66. However, Spieth had a 6-foot putt on the last hole that would have given him the all-time 36-hole major scoring record at 15-under 129.
Faldo was glad when that putt didn't drop, admitting he blurted out "Yes!" at the miss.
A day later, Faldo stressed that he was just kidding about rooting against Spieth, with some backup from Jack Nicklaus.
“Nick Faldo was obviously making a joke with his comments about Jordan yesterday, and everyone at the function, including me, took it that way," Nicklaus said on Twitter on Thursday. "We were entertaining an audience at a fundraiser, and Nick's comment was said purely in jest. Nick made it clear he has a tremendous amount of respect for Jordan as a person and a champion."
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