Saturday, April 10, 1999
Hold off on Norman fever until Sunday
BY PAUL DAUGHERTY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Not this time. Not here. Don't give your heart to this guy. He'll stomp the sucker flat.
As soon as you believe Greg Norman will win the Masters, Norman will harpoon himself with a monstrous gaffe so hideous war veterans will weep. Watching Norman on that Sunday afternoon in 1996 was like witnessing a seal-clubbing.
It took him 11 holes to lose a six-shot lead to Nick Faldo. Norman followed that public blood-letting with a soul-stripping press conference that left you wishing he'd taken the easy way out, tied his clubs to his waist and launched himself into Ike's Pond.
He's back this year, playing well and contending. But you've been warned. Give Norman the same distance you give phone solicitors. If he sounds too good to be true, he probably is.
Lack of urgency? Right ...
He shot a 68 yesterday. It was a steady, unspectacular round. The Shark even layed up on two of the par-5s. He says he is “enjoying” himself here.
Good for him. But, sorry. No sale. At Augusta, Norman is Wile E. Coyote. It's just a question of who drops the anvil.
Faldo in '96, Larry Mize in '87. Eight top-six finishes between 1981 and 1996. If Norman is still close after today's round — a decent bet — Sunday could be another cover-your-eyes special.
In the past, Norman's problem was that he loved this place too much. He was the case study for what happens when wisteria hysteria grips you by your backswing. Listening to Norman talk about Augusta National was like watching the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet.
Now, he professes to love it here, win or lose. Whether that's true or not doesn't matter, as long as Norman believes it is.
He missed most of last year because of shoulder surgery, then proclaimed he had more interest in designing golf courses than beating them. He is 44, though age matters less here than at any of the majors. Course knowledge at the Masters is power.
He played it safe on both of the back-nine par-5s. At 13, Norman's tee shot rested 190 yards from the water in front of the green. “It was sitting up perfectly. I could have hit a 3-iron to the middle of the green,” Norman said.
His caddie told him that option meant a two-putt anyway, so might as well lay up. The old Norman would have stayed with the 3-iron. The new Norman hit a 6-iron to 60 yards, then a sand wedge to tap-in range.
At 15, Norman stood 213 yards from the pin with a clear shot in, and he layed up again. “Discretion is the better part of valor there,” he said.
Norman attributes some of his new-found discretion to his revamped attitude. “I feel a little less sense of urgency. Urgency is when you try to force the issue. I'm not forcing the issue. The lack of urgency is helping me.”
Fine, Greg.
You can't rely on fate
“Doctor, Mr. Norman is here to see you ...”
Before the Masters two years ago, Norman enlisted the aid of highly paid positive thinker Tony Robbins. This year he's taking the more conventional approach, putting in time with swing guru David Leadbetter.
He will feel good about himself, he says, regardless of what happens this weekend. “I'm feeling extremely relaxed and in control,” Norman said.
Well, of course. No question. So ... what happens this year?
Faldo missed the cut. Mize is not a factor. What'll it be? Lee Janzen holing a 170-yard approach on 18 Sunday? Norman blowing up on the back nine?
Norman said Friday he believes in destiny. “Fate, whatever you want to call it,” he said. If fate were logical, it wouldn't be fate. But wouldn't it be fateful — or at least ironic — if a golfer who spent his entire career chasing unrequited love finally found it after he claimed to have quit the chase?
Yeah, it would. But it won't happen.
Norman's a heck of a story, though. Even if you do wonder why he keeps doing this to himself.
Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty welcomes your comments at 768-8454.
Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty welcomes your comments at 768-8454.
DAUGHERTY ARCHIVE
