Price Named 2011 Ambassador of Golf


World Golf Hall of Fame Member Nick Price has been named the 2011 Ambassador of Golf by Northern Ohio Golf Charities. The announcement was made by World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational Executive Director Don Padgett in conjunction with Price's title defense this week at The Principal Charity Classic on the Champions Tour. The Ambassador of Golf Award is presented annually to a person or persons who have fostered the ideals of the game on an international level and whose concern for others extends beyond the golf course.

An 18-time winner on the PGA Tour, highlighted by three major championship victories including back-to-back grand slam titles at the 1994 British Open and PGA Championship, Price has long been one of the most respected players on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour and has left his mark on charitable organizations across South Florida.

Price will be honored in a ceremony at Firestone Country Club on August 3 in conjunction with the 2011 Bridgestone Invitational.

"A most-deserving recipient both for his accomplishments on the golf course and in the community, we are pleased to honor Nick Price later this summer as the 2011 Ambassador of Golf," said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, on behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours. "Nick has been a world-class player for more than four decades and has truly been an international ambassador for the game of golf. With 29 international victories in addition to his 18 wins on the PGA Tour, Nick has helped to grow the game and give back to those less fortunate since turning professional in 1977. Still winning on the Champions Tour and showing no signs of slowing down, Nick truly deserves to join the venerable list of past Ambassador of Golf Award recipients."

"I'm extremely honored to be the recipient of this year's Ambassador of Golf Award," Price said. "When I look at the list of past recipients, I am humbled and extremely proud to be considered on of their peers. During my playing career it was very important for me to represent my country, my profession and to uphold the great traditions of our game. It has been a privilege for me to have played golf professionally throughout the world and I hope that I not only inspired young golfers along the way, but also set an example for them to follow as I did those before me."

An 18-time winner on the PGA Tour, including three major championship triumphs, Price also collected 29 International victories in a professional career that began in South Africa in 1977. After claiming the 1992 PGA Championship, he became one of just 18 players to record multiple major championship victories in a single season and just the eighth player in the modern era to record back-to-back major championship triumphs, claiming the 1994 British Open and PGA Championship.

Born in Durban, South Africa, in 1957 and raised in Zimbabwe, Price captained the golf team at the Prince Edward School in Salisbury, Zimbabwe, before spending a brief stint in the army during the country's civil war. He began his professional career in 1977, competing on the South African Tour and winning his first professional event at the 1979 Asseng Invitational.

After joining the PGA Tour in 1983, Price went wire-to-wire to defeat Jack Nicklaus at Firestone Country Club's historic South Course to win the World Series of Golf for his first Tour victory in August of his rookie campaign. The victory in 1983 was just the beginning of a fantastic run for Price at Firestone that saw him collect seven top 10s and two runner-up finishes in Akron over his next nine starts from 1984-1999. Included during this incredible run was a streak of six consecutive top 10s from 1991 to 1997. Price also shares the course record at Augusta National Golf Club after posting a 63 in the third round of the 1986 Masters.

After winning the 1992 PGA Championship, Price enjoyed his best season to date on the PGA Tour in 1993, winning four times, highlighted by a five-stroke victory at the Players Championship, and was named PGA Tour Player of the Year. As an encore in 1994, Price enjoyed one of the most prolific seasons in Tour history, winning six times, including the British Open and PGA Championship, en route to being named PGA Tour Player of the Year for a second consecutive season and reaching No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003, Price earned his 18th and final PGA Tour victory at the 2002 MasterCard Colonial. During his illustrious PGA Tour career, Price competed as a member of the International Team in five Presidents Cups (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003) and represented Zimbabwe in two World Cups and eight Dunhill Cups.

After turning 50 in January of 2007, Price joined the Champions Tour and waited two years before breaking through on the over-50 circuit at the 2009 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. He collected his fourth Champions Tour victory earlier this year at the Toshiba Classic, equaling the Champions Tour's 18-hole scoring record with an 11-under 60 in the opening round, his lowest-career round as a professional. He is the defending champion at this week's Principal Charity Classic and has six top 10s in nine starts on the season.

Away from the world of competitive golf, Price, who now lives in Hobe Sound, Fla., has been a driving force in generating much-needed funs for a variety of charities throughout South Florida. Along with several South Florida businessmen, Price hosts an annual charity golf tournament, The Milk Jug, in South Florida which benefits approximately 14 non-profit organizations in the region. Among the charities receiving proceeds from The Milk Jug are Adopt-A-Family, The Boys and Girls Flub of Martin County (Fla.), the Mollie Wilmot Children's Center and Hospice of Palm Beach County.

Price joins an illustrious list of Ambassador of Golf Award winners. Past recipients of the award are: 1981 Chi Chi Rodriguez; 1982 Bing Crosby; 1983 Byron Nelson; 1984 Gene Sarazen; 1985 President Gerald Ford; 1986 Bob Hope; 1987 Dinah Shore; 1988 Joe Dey; 1989 Frank Chirkinian; 1990 Barbara Nicklaus; 1991 Arnold Palmer; 1992 Nancy Lopez; 1993 Robert DeVincenzo; 1994 President George H.W. Bush; 1995 Michael Bonnallack; 1995 Deane Beman; 1997 Peter Thomson; 1998 Ken Venturi; 1999 Gary Player; 2000 Ben Hogan and Sam Snead; 2001 Del de Windt; 2002 Joanne Carner; 2003 Robert Dedman, Sr. and Jack Vickers; 2004 Lee Trevino; 2005 Pete Dye; 2006 Ken Schofield; 2007 Tony Jacklin; 2008 Charlie Sifford; 2009 Hale Irwin; and 2010 Tom Watson.

The above report is courtesy of the PGA Tour. For more information, visit www.pgatour.com.