Alliss - Faldo in a mess

Peter Alliss fears former world number one Nick Faldo could be locked into a downward spiral from which he may never recover.

Faldo has been on a seemingly unstoppable slide down the world rankings since his sixth and last major championship victory at the US Masters in 1996.

The 41-year-old English star has set his sights on a 12th Ryder Cup appearance against the Americans in September.

But he currently lies 39th in the points table and will need a massive improvement in form to qualify automatically for Mark James' 12-man side.

Faldo also split from long-time coach David Leadbetter, the man responsible for completely revamping his swing in the mid 1980s, towards the end of last season.

And Alliss, the BBC's highly respected commentator, is worried that Faldo may not be able to arrest the slide that has seen him slump to 89th in the world.

"Faldo is in a terrible mess at the moment and I just don't understand it," said Alliss, himself a former Ryder Cup player.

"I think it must be his nerves and if your nerves go you're really finished. The longer you go without success the more difficult it is to come back again.

"They (players) go to psychiatrists and psychologists to supply some magical answers but they never do.

"I just don't understand it (Faldo's problems) but I would love to see him do well at this year's Masters."

TRW