GOLF : Norman Slays the Monster With a Four-Shot Victory

The strong field and the once-monstrous course could not stop Greg Norman. They couldn’t even slow him down.

Armed with a six-shot lead at the start of play, Norman wasn’t threatened Sunday in his march to a four-stroke victory in the Doral Open.

Norman, who led or shared the lead all four days, played the last round in a two-under-par 70.

“It just shows that I’m getting back to where I want to be,” said Norman, who ended a 27-month slump with a victory in Canada last year.

He won with a 265, 23 under par on Doral’s Blue Monster course, a layout that suddenly became so benign it prompted British Open champion Nick Faldo of England to inquire: “Where has the monster gone?”

It was a valid question.

Norman’s total was a record by five shots on one of the more respected courses on the PGA Tour. The old mark of 270 was set by Hubert Green in 1976.

But this was a different, altered course. It was stripped of hundreds of trees by Hurricane Andrew six months ago, and for three of the four days of the tournament, it was favored by gentle southerly winds that made the course play at its easiest.

Norman’s 11th victory on the American PGA Tour and 61st worldwide was worth $252,000 from the total purse of $1.4 million and boosted his season’s earnings to $272,625.

Mark McCumber and Paul Azinger tied for second at 269. Neither, however, was able to put any heat on the leader. McCumber shot 67 and Azinger 68 in the last round.

South African David Frost was fourth at 68-270 and was followed by Sandy Lyle of Scotland at 68-272.

Faldo, with a closing 66 in his first American start of the season, was tied with Masters champion Fred Couples at 273. Couples had a closing 67.