Norman: The Man Who Would Be King of the Masters

Each year at this time, his name is not merely mentioned, it is shouted. Others may have a chance to win the Masters tournament, but only one golfer has a Greg Norman-sized opportunity.

He is all things a Masters champ should be: strong, long, patient, a deft putter and a friend of Jack Nicklaus.

In addition, Norman has a record of playing well at the Masters. In 1981, his first visit here, Norman finished a strong fourth. He has played in the championship eight times, finishing in the top five four times.

However, it is one thing to pop up on the leader board at the Masters and another to win the first of golf’s four major championships. This week, Norman, Australia’s gift to U.S. golf, has been reminded of the difference often.

Wednesday afternoon, Norman appeared before a group of reporters to share his views on playing conditions, Augusta National Golf Club, Seve Ballesteros, thunderstorms and other Masters-related topics. The interview was perhaps two questions old when he was called upon to explain why he never has won this tournament.

Norman said he didn’t know.

“I’ve had my opportunities, but I’ve never taken advantage of them,” he said.

He seems not the least bit sensitive about his near misses here, of which there have been three. In 1986, Norman bogeyed the 72nd hole to finish one shot behind Nicklaus, who captured his record sixth Masters.

A year later, Norman and Larry Mize were locked in a sudden-death playoff until Mize made a miracle, 140-foot chip shot to take the title. Then, last year, Norman seemed to have played himself out of the Masters until his 8-under-par 64 on the final day catapulted him into a tie for fifth.

He is an oddity: a man who seems unable to win or, in a way, lose in this tournament.

Although he responds to questions about the many close calls, Norman says a victory this week would free him from the doubts and the doubters.

“It would make everything else easier,” he said. “Every year when I come here, people say, ‘When are you going to win the Masters? When are you going to do it?’ Heck, I don’t know. But the more I come back, it just increases my desire. Like a good red wine, the older it gets, the better it tastes.”

Norman is not, however, a bottle of wine. He is 34, a veteran of nine seasons on the Professional Golfers’ Association Tour and about 15 years on the international circuit. During that time, he has won 55 titles.

In 1986, Norman seemed ready to realize his full potential. After his loss to Nicklaus, he went on to lead the next three major championships after three rounds, though he won only the British Open.

It was a huge achievement and one that seemed to set up Norman for a career filled with victories in major championships. It has not worked out that way. Three years later, Norman’s total remains stuck at one.

This week, there is no shortage of theories about why Norman’s best has not been good enough in the majors. Mark Calcavecchia, last year’s Masters runner-up, looks at Norman and sees a man who is trying too hard. “He wants to win so bad you can see it in his eyeballs,” Calcavecchia said of Norman Wednesday.

Nicklaus agreed it never is helpful to be overly anxious.

“That happens to a lot of fellows,” Nicklaus said. “You want to win so badly that you get keyed up. But you get so keyed up that you’re unable to play.”

Calcavecchia said he had played in groups behind Norman recently and was struck by the slower pace of the Australian’s game.

“At the TPC (Players Championship), he played slower than I have ever seen him,” Calcavecchia said. “He was grinding so hard, he wasn’t in his natural flow. I guess he feels like if he puts a super grind on it maybe that will improve his chances to win. But that’s not Greg. He tees it up, waffles it and he’s gone.”

Norman listened intently as Calcavecchia’s unsolicited advice was repeated to him. He ran his hand through his hair. Then he shrugged.

“It’s easy for other people to say something like that,” he said. “Maybe sometimes you don’t see those things in yourself. But I think I know what I have to do to win. You can’t force the issue. In most things, the harder you try, the worse it gets.”

Then, with the slightest touch of irritation, he said, “I’ve been out here long enough to know what I am trying to do and when I am trying to hard. He (Calcavecchia) could be right. But I don’t think so.”

Norman is one of the richest athletes in the world. Figuring in income from his golf and from business dealings, he is said to be making $8 million to $10 million per year.

And, though he never has won the Masters, he says he adores Augusta National Golf Club, a course that seems to have been built with Norman’s strength in mind.

So maybe it is not too late for a Norman victory. He is hardly too old to win. And, despite what Calcavecchia has theorized, Norman says he is not too consumed by the prospect of victory.

“I could see how that could happen to someone else,” Norman said, adding quickly, “But not me.”