Golf Roundup : Norman Gets Special Inspiration, Wins

Greg Norman, accompanied by a gravely ill teen-ager whose wish was to watch him play, came from four shots back to win the Heritage tournament at Hilton Head Island, S.C., Sunday by one stroke.

It was Norman’s first American victory in two years.

Jamie Hutton, a 17-year-old leukemia patient whose wish it was to see Norman play, walked every step and watched every stroke as Norman emerged from a four-man battle with a bogey-free final round of 5-under-par 66.

Hutton was given the trip to this resort island by a charitable group, Thursday’s Child, which attempts to grant wishes of seriously ill youngsters.

Hutton, from Madison, Wis., sat with his idol on the player’s bag beside the 18th green after he had completed play and waited for the final groups to finish.

The two sat and watched as David Frost of South Africa, the last man on the course and the only one with a chance to catch Norman on the final hole, missed a 20-foot birdie putt that would have forced a playoff.

Hutton grinned broadly and shook hands with a smiling Norman, who then tousled the youngster’s hair.

“I just want to thank Jamie,” Norman said. “He showed me inspiration and courage.”

Norman one-putted for par on the last two holes. Said Hutton: “I almost had heart failure with all those short (par) putts, but he made them.”

Norman won with a 13-under-par 271 on the picturesque Harbour Town Golf Links.

The victory was worth $126,000 from the total purse of $700,000 and pushed Norman’s earnings on the American tour to $353,100 for the year. He won three Australian titles earlier this season.

Third-round leader Fred Couples simply couldn’t get anything going. He had a closing 73 and finished fourth at 274.

At Houston, Chi Chi Rodriguez became the fourth player to earn $1 million on the Senior Tour when shot a final-round 69 and won the Doug Sanders Celebrity tournament by two strokes with a 54-hole total of 8-under-par 208.

Rodriguez, who eagled the par-5 16th hole, won $37,500. Former NFL quarterback John Brodie tied Miller Barber for second.