Nick Price didn’t just spend his weekend in Des Moines winning the Principal Charity Classic at Glen Oaks. He gave words of wisdom to an ISU journalism student on how to succeed in the sports communication world. 

“The best reporters and the ones that will have longevity over the years are the ones that will understand what the player or athlete is saying,” Price said. “With the sports community reaching all corners of the globe, a member of the media is sure to encounter international athletes.”

“Even though not all of us have a command of the English language,” he said. “You still get the jist of what we’re trying to say. And the more you report that, the more trusted you’ll be with the athletes. You have to look at things objectivly, and we understand that.”

Price explained how frustrating it is to have large groups of media present at any given tournament, where the next morning there are five different newspapers with five outrageously different stories.

“Report what you see, what you’ve heard and what you’re hearing from the person,” said Price. “People read too much into interviews… They think [athletes] are trying to hide things.”

He agreed that some professional athletes try to hide certain things during interviews, but Price assures that, “the more the media are trusted, the more truth you’ll get from [the athletes].”

Immediately following his victory, the first request from Price was to have two cold Coronas waiting for him.

“It was a really hard day today… I did all the right things today.” 

Cross winds and challenging pin placement on the greens caused for a difficult final round for the Classic. Price explained how important it is do have good shots down the fairway to avoid difficult putts.

Price credits his previous performances at the Classic as a main motivator to come out on top this year. Placing third in 2008, he lost in a playoff on the 18th green to Mark McNulty just last year.   

“Had I not finished [in first] it would have left a psychological scar in me,” Price said. “I couldn’t have played any better this week.”

Although he would enjoy being 60 years old and at the top of his golfing career, Price, the 53 year old originally from South Africa, hopes to finish his time in the PGA Champions Tour with a bang.

“I hope to go out my last two, three years just winning,” Price said. “That’s what I love doing so much.”

And one can only hope the Price is right.