Norman Shoots 65 to Lead PGA Field by Two Strokes

Greg Norman continued his summer-long blitz by shooting a six-under-par 65 on a rain-softened course and established a two-stroke lead Thursday in the first round of the 68th PGA National Championship.

The Inverness course, which did not yield a sub-par 72-hole score the four times it played host to the U.S. Open, was stripped of its defenses by an inch of overnight rain.

“The golf course played about four shots easier” than in practice rounds when the tiny greens were extremely firm and hard to hold, Norman said.

“The course was set up to play tough, but with the rain you could hit it at the flag instead of playing it short and trying to run it on the green.

“In the fairways, your drive would plug, or even back up on you. It just made it that much easier,” said Norman, who led through three rounds of both the Masters and U.S. Open before scoring his first major triumph last month in the British Open.

Others found it not quite so easy, however.

There was Jack Nicklaus, for example. The 46-year-old Masters champion was three under par at one point and was striding confidently toward a position among the leaders when he bogeyed both the 16th and 17th to finish with a 70.

“Sure, I’m disappointed,” he said. “I’m disappointed at making those two bogeys. If I weren’t disappointed, I shouldn’t be playing.”

Still, he was two strokes better than Tom Watson, once again is trying to win the one title he needs to complete a sweep of the four recognized major championships.

Then, too, there was 56-year-old Arnold Palmer, also seeking the one major title that has eluded him. He struggled to a 75 that was one stroke better than Hale Irwin, who won his second U.S. Open on this course in 1979.

U.S. Open champion Raymond Floyd also had a 76 in the mild, occasionally drizzly weather, and defending champion Hubert Green shot a 75.

Seve Ballesteros of Spain, winner of five of his last six starts on the European tour, was at 74.

Craig Stadler, a nonwinner for more than two full seasons, birdied the 18th hole to complete a 67 that put him in a tie for second with 6-foot 7-inch Phil Blackmar, whose erratic effort included six birdies, an eagle and four bogeys.

Joining Wayne Levi at 68 were Peter Jacobsen, Australian Wayne Grady, Ronnie Black and Gary Koch.

While the scoring was exceptionally low--with 16 players breaking 70--it was Norman who looked the most comfortable.

Since the Masters in April, he’s finished out of the top 10 in only one start--when he led through 54 holes then “came out flat” in the final round of the U.S. Open.

He’s won twice in the United States, had a total of three runner-up finishes, last week missed a title playoff by a single stroke and, along the way, has picked up a record $564,729.

“I play about the same as I have for the last 10 years, the 31-year-old Australian said. “But now I’m a lot more mature. My head is on straighter. I’m not so impetuous.”

As an example, he pointed to his play on the par-5, 528-yard, dogleg-left eighth hole, where he was in jeopardy of making his only bogey of the day.

“A stupid mental mistake,” he said. “That’s the first time in months I’ve tried to overpower a hole.”

Attempting to carry a bunker 280 yards out in order to reach the green in two, he pushed his drive through the fairway on the right.

Tangled up in deep, wet rough, he had to chip out sideways, hit a 5-iron short and then chipped on, the ball stopping some 45 feet from the flag.

“It was a double breaking putt, first left, then right. I just told myself, ‘go ahead and make it and don’t make any silly mistakes for the rest of the week,’ ” Norman said.

So he did.

The important thing, Norman said, was his attitude.

“A few years ago I wouldn’t have been that docile,” he said.

This time his brush with adversity served as the catalyst to his round. It sent him off and running. After saving par on the 10th, he birdied five of the next six holes and left the rest of the field talking about things like streaks and dominance and how long can it last?

Norman, who one-putted 10 times, was one under par for the day when he began his decisive burst with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 11th. He followed with an 8-iron shot that bit the soft green and stopped seven feet from the flag on the 12th. He made that one and then chipped to within 12 inches for a tap-in birdie-4 on the next hole.

He scored from 10 feet on the 15th and lofted a 9-iron to within five feet of the cup on the 16th.

Norman finished the back nine in 31, put his target score on the board early in the day and went about his business, content to let the field shoot at it.

They did.

And they missed.

THE LEADERS

THROUGH 18 HOLES

Greg Norman 34-31--65 Craig Stadler 33-34--67 Phil Blackmar 33-34--67 Gary Koch 32-36--68 Wayne Grady 36-32--68 Peter Jacobsen 34-34--68 Wayne Levi 31-37--68 Ronnie Black 35-33--68

Complete scores on Page 14