Frank Chirkinian (June 3, 1926 – March 4, 2011)^[1] was an Armenian-American CBS Sports producer and director. He is most notable for his work on golf coverage, though he also directed coverage of the Winter Olympics, the United States Open Tennis Championships, college and professional American football, auto racing and the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.^[2] He died at his Florida home after suffering from lung cancer.^[1] Shortly before his death, Chirkinian was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame; he was inducted posthumously.^[3]

Early life[link]

Chirkinian was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Golf coverage[link]

Chirkinian was known as the 'father of televised golf' for the impact he had on golf broadcasting.^[2] He came to the attention of CBS after he impressed with his direction of the 1958 PGA Championship.^[2] Recruited by the network, who had no one with expertise in the relatively new field of golf broadcasting, he went on to be executive producer of CBS's golf coverage from 1959 until 1996.^[4][5] During his time at CBS, he was nicknamed 'The Ayatollah' for his brusque, uncompromising approach to directing broadcasts.^[6] Chirkinian was particularly well regarded for the coverage of the Masters Tournament that he oversaw for four decades, working closely with the authorities at Augusta National to ensure they were satisfied.^[7]

Chirkinian was responsible for a number of innovations in the filming and presentation of golf. He ensured as many microphones as possible were placed around the golf course to pick up the sounds of the tournament and golfers' conversations, rather than having commentators talk over silent footage.^[1] He showed as many golf shots as possible, cutting quickly from player to player to keep up the pace of the broadcast, unafraid of focusing on the game's stars.^[1][5] The use of multiple cameras was introduced during Chirkinian's tenure, including high-angle cameras mounted in trees and on blimps for the first time.^[5] Chirkinian said that he was most proud of being the first to display golfers' scores relative to par, rather than cumulatively, making it simpler to work out how they were faring relative to the rest of the field.^[1] Most of all, Chirkinian thought it important to allow coverage to focus on golfers and the shots they made, and was critical of recent innovations in golf broadcasting that he saw as distracting and unnecessary.^[2][1]

Other media[link]

Chirkinian appeared as himself in the Kevin Costner film Tin Cup.

Honors and awards[link]

Chirkinian won four Emmys and two Peabody Awards during his career.^[5] In 2007 he was awarded the Sports Lifetime Achievement Award and inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.^[8] At the time of his death, he was scheduled to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on May 9, 2011.^[1][9] At the induction ceremony, a message Chirkinian videotaped shortly before his death was broadcast to the assembled golfing luminaries.^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile at the World Golf Hall of Fame

Nick Price
Personal information
Full name	Nicholas Raymond Leige Price
Born	(1957-01-28) 28 January 1957 (age 55) Durban, Natal Province, Union of South Africa
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Nationality	Zimbabwe
Residence	Jupiter, Florida, U.S.
Career
Turned professional	1977
Current tour(s)	Champions Tour
Professional wins	50
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	18
European Tour	5
Japan Golf Tour	1
Sunshine Tour	10
Champions Tour	4
Other	15
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 3)
Masters Tournament	5th: 1986
U.S. Open	4th/T4: 1992, 1998
The Open Championship	Won: 1994
PGA Championship	Won: 1992, 1994
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	2003 (member page)
Sunshine Tour Order of Merit winner	1982/83
PGA Player of the Year	1993, 1994
PGA Tour Player of the Year	1993, 1994
PGA Tour leading money winner	1993, 1994
Vardon Trophy	1993, 1997
Byron Nelson Award	1997
Payne Stewart Award	2002
Bob Jones Award	2005
Old Tom Morris Award	2011

Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a South African-Zimbabwean professional golfer and an inductee in the World Golf Hall of Fame. In the mid-1990s, Price reached number one in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Background[link]

Price is a citizen of Zimbabwe, but was born in Durban, Union of South Africa. His parents were originally British and his early life was spent in Zimbabwe (then called Rhodesia). He attended Prince Edward School in Salisbury, where he captained the golf team. After his schooling he spent some time in the army during that country's civil war. He began his professional golf career in 1977 on the Southern Africa Tour, before moving to the European Tour and finally the PGA Tour in 1983. Price now lives in Hobe Sound, Florida. Price's nephew Ray Price is a national cricketer for Zimbabwe.^[1]

Early professional years[link]

Price won his first tournament outside of South Africa at the 1980 Swiss Open. He was still relatively unknown when he finished tied for second with Peter Oosterhuis one shot behind Tom Watson at the 1982 Open Championship after having a two-shot lead with six holes to go.^[2] The next year, was when Price won his first PGA Tour event. A wire to wire four-shot triumph over Jack Nicklaus at the World Series of Golf.^[3]

After that win, it would be another eight years almost before Price won again on the PGA Tour. In the interim, Price shot a Augusta National Golf Club course record 63 at the 1986 Masters Tournament and finished second at the 1988 Open Championship to Seve Ballesteros.

Career peak[link]

By the mid-nineties, Price was regarded as the best player in the world, and in 1994 he won two majors back-to-back, The Open and the PGA Championship, adding to his first major, the 1992 PGA Championship. He topped the PGA Tour money list in 1993 and 1994, setting a new earnings record each time, and spent 43 weeks at number one in the Official World Golf Rankings. Price was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

Price won the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit for the 1982/83 season and would have won again in 1996/97 if he had met the minimum number of tournaments. In 1993 and 1997, Price was awarded the Vardon Trophy; which is given annually by the PGA of America to the player with the lowest adjusted scoring average with a minimum of 60 rounds. In 2005, he was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the USGA in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. Price received the 2011 Old Tom Morris Award, the highest honor given by the GCSAA to an individual who "through a continuing lifetime commitment to the game of golf has helped to mold the welfare of the game in a manner and style exemplified by Old Tom Morris."

Playing style[link]

During his early career and peak, Price was one of the best ball strikers in the game along with his good friend and contemporary Greg Norman. He was able to drive the ball long and exceptionally straight, with his irons he had the ability to manipulate the direction and flight of his shots unlike many other players. Price will be known in history as one of the greatest strikers of the ball.^{[citation needed]}

Like fellow African Gary Player, Price has expressed his distaste for the Ryder Cup, saying of the event, "If you like root canals and hemorrhoids, you'd love it there."^[4]

Although Price continues to play professionally, he has expanded into golf design with his own company operating out of Florida, and he has his own line of signature golf apparel. He is widely regarded by fans, media and his fellow players as one of the most personable golfers on the PGA Tour. He won his first Champions Tour event at the 2009 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am where he had three double bogeys in his final round, but he hung on to win by one stroke over Larry Nelson.

Price would write three words in his diary before each season: "Persistence, persistence, persistence".

Professional wins (50)[link]

PGA Tour wins (18)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	28 Aug 1983	World Series of Golf	-10 (66–68–69–67=270)	4 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
2	5 May 1991	GTE Byron Nelson Classic	-18 (68–64–70–68=270)	1 stroke	Craig Stadler
3	8 Sep 1991	Canadian Open	-15 (69–68–65–69=273)	2 strokes	Greg Norman
4	16 Aug 1992	PGA Championship	-6 (70–70–68–70=278)	3 strokes	John Cook, Nick Faldo, Jim Gallagher, Jr., Gene Sauers
5	25 Oct 1992	H.E.B. Texas Open	-25 (67–62–66–68=263)	Playoff	Steve Elkington
6	28 Mar 1993	The Players Championship	-18 (64–68–71–67=270)	5 strokes	Bernhard Langer
7	27 Jun 1993	Canon Greater Hartford Open	-17 (65–70–69–65=271)	1 stroke	Roger Maltbie, Dan Forsman
8	4 Jul 1993	Sprint Western Open	-19 (66–71–67–67=269)	5 strokes	Greg Norman
9	1 Aug 1993	Federal Express St. Jude Classic	-22 (69–65–66–66=266)	3 strokes	Jeff Maggert, Rick Fehr
10	13 Mar 1994	Honda Classic	-12 (70–67–73–66=276)	1 stroke	Craig Parry
11	29 May 1994	Southwestern Bell Colonial	-14 (65–70–67–64=266)	Playoff	Scott Simpson
12	1 Jul 1994	Motorola Western Open	-11 (67–67–72–71=277)	1 stroke	Greg Kraft
13	17 Jul 1994	The Open Championship	-16 (69–66–67–66=268)	1 stroke	Jesper Parnevik
14	14 Aug 1994	PGA Championship	-19 (67–65–70–67=269)	6 strokes	Corey Pavin
15	11 Sep 1994	Bell Canadian Open	-13 (67–72–68–68=275)	1 stroke	Mark Calcavecchia
16	20 Apr 1997	MCI Classic	-19 (65–69–69–66=269)	6 strokes	Jesper Parnevik
17	2 Aug 1998	FedEx St. Jude Classic	-20 (65–67–70–66=268)	Playoff	Jeff Sluman
18	19 May 2002	MasterCard Colonial	-13 (69–65–66–67=267)	5 strokes	Kenny Perry, David Toms

PGA Tour playoff record (3-3)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1986	Western Open	Fred Couples, David Frost, Tom Kite	Kite won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1992	H.E.B. Texas Open	Steve Elkington	Won with par on second extra hole
3	1994	Southwestern Bell Colonial	Scott Simpson	Won with birdie on first extra hole
4	1995	NEC World Series of Golf	Billy Mayfair, Greg Norman	Norman won with birdie on first extra hole
5	1998	FedEx St. Jude Classic	Jeff Sluman	Won with birdie on second extra hole
6	2000	Advil Western Open	Robert Allenby	Lost to par on first extra hole

European Tour wins (5)[link]

• 1980 Swiss Open
• 1985 Lancome Trophy
• 1994 The Open Championship
• 1997 Dimension Data Pro-Am, Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship (both co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour)

Major championships are shown in bold.

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)[link]

• 1999 Suntory Open

Sunshine Tour wins (10)[link]

• 1979 Asseng TV Challenge Series
• 1981 SAB South African Masters
• 1982 Sigma Vaals Reef Open
• 1985 ICL International
• 1993 ICL International
• 1994 ICL International
• 1995 Alfred Dunhill Challenge
• 1997 Dimension Data Pro-Am, Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship (both co-sanctioned with the European Tour)
• 1998 Dimension Data Pro-Am

Other wins (15)[link]

• 1981 San Remo Masters (Italy – not a European Tour event)
• 1989 West End South Australian Open
• 1992 Air New Zealand/Shell Open, PGA Grand Slam of Golf
• 1993 Nedbank Golf Challenge
• 1995 Hassan II Golf Trophy (Morocco), Zimbabwe Open
• 1997 Zimbabwe Open, Nedbank Golf Challenge, Gillette Tour Challenge Championship (with Jim Colbert and Kelly Robbins)
• 1998 Zimbabwe Open, Nedbank Golf Challenge
• 2001 CVS Charity Classic (with Mark Calcavecchia)
• 2006 CVS/pharmacy Charity Classic (with Tim Clark; unofficial event)
• 2009 CVS Caremark Charity Classic (with David Toms; unofficial event)

Champions Tour wins (4)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	19 Apr 2009	Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am	-9 (66–67–71=204)	2 strokes	Larry Nelson
2	25 Apr 2010	Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Mark O'Meara)	-28 (62–64–62=188)	Playoff	John Cook & Joey Sindelar
3	6 Jun 2010	Principal Charity Classic	-14 (67–65–67=199)	4 strokes	Tommy Armour III
4	13 Mar 2011	Toshiba Classic	-17 (60–68–68=196)	1 stroke	Mark Wiebe

Major championships[link]

Wins (3)[link]

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1992	PGA Championship	2 shot deficit	−6 (70–70–68–70=278)	3 strokes	John Cook, Nick Faldo, Jim Gallagher, Jr., Gene Sauers
1994	The Open Championship	1 shot deficit	−12 (69–66–67–66=268)	1 stroke	Jesper Parnevik
1994	PGA Championship (2)	3 shot lead	−11 (67–65–70–67=269)	6 strokes	Corey Pavin

Results timeline[link]

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Team appearances[link]

Amateur[link]

• Eisenhower Trophy (representing Zimbabwe): 1976

Professional[link]

• Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Zimbabwe): 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
• World Cup of Golf: 1978 (representing South Africa), 1993 (representing Zimbabwe)
• Presidents Cup (International Team): 1994, 1996, 1998 (winners), 2000, 2003 (tie)

See also[link]

• Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• List of World Number One male golfers
• Golfers with most Sunshine Tour wins
• List of men's major championships winning golfers

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Nick Price at the European Tour official site
• Nick Price at the Sunshine Tour official site
• Nick Price at the PGA Tour official site
• Nick Price at the Japan Golf Tour official site
• Nick Price Profile and stats from About.com