Greg Norman loves Augusta

Greg Norman won British Opens at Turn

2049

By Special Arrangement with The Augusta Chronicle

Scott Michaux

 

Greg Norman won British Opens at Turn­berry and Royal St. George’s. He won 89 events worldwide in iconic places such as Royal Melbourne, St. Andrews, Sawgrass and Congressional. He’s designed more than 70 courses on six continents and has his own vineyard.

 

Yet perhaps the one place in the world Australia’s Great White Shark is most associated with is the one course he couldn’t conquer: Augusta National Golf Club.

 

Despite repeated heartbreaks in Masters Tournaments that seemed his to win, Norman still has a soft spot in his heart for Augusta.

 

“Tom Watson always felt that Oakmont was always his friend, even though he never won around there,” Norman said. “I always thought Augusta was my lover. Because I do love it. Everything about Augusta, I love.”

 

It was an often excruciating love. He was in love even before he first set foot on the property for his Masters debut in 1981.

 

The highlight he remembers most was in 1975 when Jack Nicklaus drained a crucial putt on the 16th hole and leapt into the air with his putter held high.

 

“I do remember that pose, the photograph, the grainy image on the TV screen,” Norman said. “I do remember that one.”

 

So when Norman showed up as a rookie in 1981 and took a share of the first-round lead with 69, it was a harbinger of things to come. He started 23 times in the Masters, finishing runner-up three times, third three more times, with two other top-fives, including a fourth by three shots in that 1981 debut.

 

 

The most difficult, however, came in 1996. Norman matched the course record of 63 in the opening round and seemed headed for a wire-to-wire romp when he carried a six-stroke lead into the final round over Nick Faldo. With all of Australia expecting a long-awaited coronation, Norman melted down with a 78 to lose by five shots to his rival.

 

“Only when you guys ask me questions about it,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t wake up in the morning (thinking about 1996) … Believe it or not, I didn’t have any pain. I had disappointment in myself in ’96, right, probably the most one.”

 

Norman revealed in the television documentary last year that back issues might have contributed to his collapse.

 

When Scott rolled in a birdie on the second playoff hole and became the first Australian to win the Masters last April, Norman had no moment of bittersweet reflection that it could – perhaps should – have been him years before.

 

“No. And I mean that 100 percent,” Norman said emphatically. “Never in that situation did I ever think that. My time was done. There’s not a jealous bone in my body, so I like to see people do better than what I’ve done. So, no, I’ve had my time.”

 

Norman still plays Augusta National once or twice a year with members. At age 59, he’s not shooting 63 there anymore, especially from the Masters tees, where he still plays from.

 

“I go back there anyway just to see what it’s like,” he said. “I can still hit it as far as I hit it in the ’80s, but those tees are way back. That’s the big difference.”

 

 

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