Hard times for Faldo as caddie shacks up with someone else

If Ernie Els is the 'Big Easy' then Nick Faldo was the 'Extremely Uneasy'.

Even when he was world number one, Faldo was hard on himself, harder on his wives and downright awkward with the press. He wanted perfection in his life, from his golf swing to his women via what was written about him.

Faldo did win six Majors but the search for his own personal nirvana proved in vain and flaws started to appear in his swing, two marriages ended in divorce and he began playing in the United States to avoid the barbs from the British press.

The last few years have been tough on Faldo, with his ranking in free fall and his personal life in constant disarray.

But up he popped in Asia earlier this month, a new man. Witty and personable with the press, confident in his game and with a fresh lady on his arm.

He quoted Austin Powers, from the cult film The Spy Who Shagged Me , in referring to Tiger Woods as 'pretty hot, baby', revealed he had proposed marriage to new flame Valerie Bercher - a 26-year-old Swiss Miss - in the romantic environs of Paris and praised long-time caddie Fanny Sunesson for her loyalty and ability.

She had been, he said, the one constant in his life during the past decade. Fanny, it was, who knelt behind him to line up the putts and stood beside him as their breakfast eggs were cooked.