Open Returning to Memorable Site--Olympic Club : Luckless Norman Man to Beat on Course Unkind to Favorites

The pastoral grounds of the Olympic Club have earned a place in golf history by dealing out shock and disappointment to two of the game’s most dominant figures--Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer.

Golf’s current dominant figure, Greg Norman, has already had enough shock and disappointment to last a lifetime and he will try to reverse that trend at the 87th U.S. Open next weekend.

A field of 150 players, cut down from an original, record entry list of 5,696, will take part in America’s oldest golf tournament beginning Thursday with Raymond Floyd defending the title he won 12 months ago on the other side of the continent.

Like most Open sites, Olympic will provide the contestants with a history lesson.

The heavily wooded acreage which sits between the Pacific Ocean and Lake Merced has been the site of two of the most memorable tournaments in golf history.

In 1955, Jack Fleck birdied the final hole to tie Ben Hogan and then beat Hogan by three shots in a playoff to prevent him from winning what would have been a record fifth Open title.

Eleven years later Arnold Palmer owned a seven-shot lead with nine holes to play and lost all of his advantage to Billy Casper. In their playoff the next day, Casper again came from behind to win his second Open crown.

Now the game’s greats return to the forest by the sea for the tournament which each year can be counted upon to add another unusual chapter to the game’s scrapbook.

Chances are that chapter this year will include the name of Greg Norman.

At some stage during the final round of the last five major championships, Norman has held the lead. Only once, however, has he been in front when it counted--that coming in last year’s British Open. Norman has been beaten in the last two majors because Bob Tway holed a bunker shot at the 72nd hole in last year’s PGA and because Larry Mize pitched in from 50 yards away on the second hole of sudden death in this year’s Masters.

“The more you give yourself a chance to win, the more you will win,” Norman said. “I can’t win the Grand Slam this year. But I can win three majors and that is what I am going to try to do.”

It is emblematic of Norman’s charisma that he is considered the man to beat even though he has yet to win on the American tour this year.

“I just haven’t putted the way I did last year,” Norman said. “I feel like I’m hitting the ball well. It’s just a matter of making some more putts.”

Although Mize’s shot will be remembered as the blow that finished Norman at this year’s Masters, what will be forever a footnote are the number of makeable putts Norman missed on Masters Sunday.

Despite his putting woes, Norman’s play over the past few years has left his fellow competitors in awe.

“Greg has a good game for a lot of different type courses,” said Corey Pavin, who won twice early this year before slipping into a slump. “It’s not just that he hits it long. But he hits it straight and long. He’s probably the longest straight hitter in golf.

“A lot of guys hit it long. But nobody hits it as long and straight as he does.

“Maybe early in his career he was a little too aggressive, but now he has the course management to play the tough courses. He can hit any shot you need. He can hit it high and he can hit it low and he has played around the world, which I think helps. He’s played on hard ground and soft ground, in cold weather and hot weather. He’s seen it all that sort of experience is invaluable.

“I think he is the most well-rounded player in the world.”

To win his first Open, however, Norman must overcome a rapidly growing crowd of young competitors plus the traditional challengers who have long-since made their mark on the game.

Mark Calcavecchia shot a 65 on the last day of the 1986 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and hasn’t slowed down since. Paul Azinger, Jeff Sluman and Keith Clearwater have jumped out of the pack of youngsters to steal headlines. Mize not only won the Masters, but has challenged elsewhere.

Payne Stewart, Ben Crenshaw and Lanny Wadkins have played very well as one would have expected and Tom Kite’s game is back on form as his seven-shot victory at the Kemper demonstrated.

The foreign challenge of Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and Sandy Lyle will likely be formidable.

And, lest anyone forget, there will be Jack Nicklaus--who, when he hits his first tee shot on Thursday--will equal a record for most consecutive Open appearances. It will be his 31st straight Open, tying Gene Sarazen and Arnold Palmer for that honor.

A year ago Nicklaus shot a 77 in the wind and rain on opening day at Shinnecock. But only two players posted a better score over the last three rounds than he did.

Only a couple of errant wood shots in the first round of the Masters this year kept Nicklaus from being a final-day factor. No player at Augusta hit more greens than Nicklaus did this year.

“I only made one putt at the Masters this year,” Nicklaus said. “Honestly, that’s all.”

The course these old and new names will test ranks among the most respected layouts in the country. And yet it will be a new challenge for most of them. Even Crenshaw, the tradition-minded historian of the PGA tour, had never played Olympic before this month.

Those familiar with Olympic, however, contend it will be a difficult week.

“I played there in the U.S. Amateur (won in 1981 by Nathaniel Crosby),” said Azinger. “And the thing I remember most is that the greens were the fastest I’ve ever seen. It’s a great test.”

U.S. OPEN FACTS

Event: 87th Open championship of the United States Golf Association, June 18-21.

Site: The Olympic Club in San Francisco, host of the 1955 and 1966 Open championships.

Conditions of Play: 18 holes Thursday and Friday with the field cut to the low 60 players and ties, plus any players within 10 shots of the lead, for the final two rounds Saturday and Sunday.

Defending Champion: Raymond Floyd shot a final round 68 to emerge from a crowded field of contenders and win his first Open by two shots over fast finishing Chip Beck and Lanny Wadkins. Ten players led or shared the lead during the final round with eight of them--Beck, Wadkins, Ben Crenshaw, Mark McCumber, Payne Stewart, Bob Tway, Hal Sutton and Greg Norman--deadlocked for the lead at the same moment.