You know how Jack Nicklaus never publicly admits he doesn’t want Tiger Woods to break his all-time major championship mark? Well, Nick Faldo is no Jack Nicklaus when it comes to the sanctity of his own records.
CBS analyst Nick Faldo cheered Jordan Spieth’s missed putt at the Masters
Much of the golf world was rooting for Jordan Spieth to break single-round and 36-hole scoring records at the Masters, but not the lead analyst for CBS.
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The six-time major champion and CBS announcer conceded on Wednesday during a fundraiser that two weeks ago he actively cheered Jordan Spieth’s failure to become the first to score a 62 in a major championship.
“I was sitting up there dodging bullets from this young man,” Faldo said about the eventual Masters winner’s record-breaking run, according to the Columbus Dispatch. “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 and I are both in the 63 club; that’s the best round in any major.
“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.”
Among the many records the 21-year-old set in his wire-to-wire Masters win was the lowest 36-hole Augusta tally (130), which matched Faldo and two others for the best scoring output in majors history. But when the threat to shatter that result sputtered on Friday, Faldo could not contain himself, telling the Columbus fundraiser crowd, including noted Buckeye Nicklaus, that he let out a “Yes!” (not for the on-air broadcast) as Spieth’s six-foot birdie putt slid by the cup on the 18th hole.
Nicklaus, of course, prefers a less in-your-face approach when it comes to Woods, who’s been stuck on 14 since 2008, creeping up on his 18 major titles.
“I’ve had Tiger chasing me for a long time. But, you know, I don’t ever, I don’t actually sit there and root for him,” Nicklaus said. “But I don’t root against him, either.”
UPDATE: Since Faldo’s comments spread far and wide, there have been multiple attempts at clarifying and correcting the Dispatch account, with others adding that the remarks at the fundraiser were simple jokes during a comedic “back-and-forth” with Nicklaus. The Golden Bear himself even issued a statement on the matter:
“Nick Faldo was obviously making a joke with his comments about Jordan yesterday, and everyone at the function, including me, took it that way. 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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