Latest Leading Role Is Made for Norman

It’s that Greg Norman again and he’s doing his balancing act one more time, standing on the edge of a major and wondering which way he’s going to go.

This time, it’s the Masters, where Norman is straddling golf history once again. By now, his routine is as familiar a sight as blond hair tucked underneath a wide-brimmed hat.

As the 60th Masters enters its final round today, Norman has a six-shot lead that looks about as formidable as a flotilla of sharks in Rae’s Creek.

It’s the seventh time that Norman has entered the last round of a major with a lead. He has won once. That was the 1986 British Open, when Norman closed with a 69 and won by five shots.

Not that it bothers him much.

“I don’t live in the past,” Norman said. “I don’t dwell on those things. I feel comfortable.”

On a cloudy, breezy Saturday at Augusta National, it was easy to see why.

Norman shot a one-under-par 71 and watched almost everybody chasing him take a step to the rear quicker than you could say pine tree.

Norman’s 54-hole total of 203 is 13 under par. The Masters scoring record is 17 under, by Jack Nicklaus in 1965 and Ray Floyd in 1976.

There’s more. Nobody has ever blown a six-shot Masters lead after three rounds. The top lowlight was when Ed Sneed had a five-shot lead in 1979, when Fuzzy Zoeller won.

Norman said the best way to prepare is to play a psychological trick on himself.

“I’m just going to go out as though nobody’s got the lead,” he said. “Pretend that we’ve all got the same score.”

Actually, nobody’s close. Nick Faldo’s 73 made him the nearest player to Norman, but he’s at seven-under 209 and that’s a long way to go. In fact, Atlanta is closer to Norman than Faldo right now.

“I’m a long way back, but anything’s possible,” Faldo said. “It’s all gain and nothing to lose tomorrow. Just go out and play.”

Phil Mickelson scrambled again, finished with a 72, and is alone in third place at 210. David Frost, Duffy Waldorf and Masters rookie Scott McCarron are at 212.

John Huston and Scott Hoch are tied for seventh at 213 and nobody else is within 10 shots of Norman.

Maybe the best that everybody chasing Norman can hope for is that he’ll get some pine needles in his spikes or something and stop playing as he has.

After three rounds, Norman has had exactly one bogey on the back nine and 11 birdies. He has birdied two par-five holes on the back, No. 13 and No. 15, all three rounds.

It has been quite a sight. Even when Norman messes up, he plays great. This is what happened at No. 12, the par-three, which was playing at a tidy little 137 yards Saturday.

A gust of wind hit Norman’s eight-iron and the ball rolled off the bank into the water. Norman took a penalty stroke and chipped from about 80 yards to 10 feet, then made the putt.

It was what you call a good bogey. Norman easily could have made double or triple there and Faldo knew it.

“I mean, he had a great four,” Faldo said.

His own four on the same hole wasn’t as great. Faldo flew the green, then chipped to two feet and missed the putt.

It was not an easy chip shot, Faldo said.

“I was on a downhill lie,” he said. “I had to chip it up to an up slope and then down to a down slope and then there was water there. That sounds pretty tough to me.”

All the while, Norman’s lead expanded like the waistlines at the concession stands. It was at three when Faldo birdied the second, but grew to four when Faldo double-bogeyed the 360-yard No. 3 after he missed the green, then saw his chip shot come back to him.

Norman’s lead still was four at the 15th when he chipped to six feet and knocked in the putt for birdie. At the 16th, Faldo hit a bad nine-iron off the tee, chipped on and two-putted for bogey.

Norman’s nine-iron was more accurate. He got the ball to within six feet and made the putt. Suddenly, it was a seven-shot lead. Faldo got one back with a birdie at 17, but that was it.

The only two scores under 70 for the day were 69s by Waldorf and David Duval. Norman said there was a reason why.

“It’s a four-letter word called wind,” he said.

Mickelson actually did the best of any of Norman’s closest 36-hole challengers with his round of par. But even he isn’t sure about making up enough ground.

Is Norman catchable?

“Well, I don’t know,” Mickelson said. “What do you think? I think that anything’s possible, so I don’t want to rule out the improbable.”

Yet when you’re talking Norman and majors and third-round leads, little seems improbable.

He has won two majors, the 1986 and 1993 British Opens and come close in others, including back-to-back runner-up Masters finishes in 1986-87. He has learned not to take anything for granted.

“Irrespective of what happens, I’m going to enjoy every step I take,” Norman said. “I’ve got a chance to win the Masters. I’ve been there before. There’s no better feeling than having a chance to win a major championship.”

He should know.

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Masters Scores

At Augusta, Ga.--Par 72

Greg Norman: 63-69-71--203 -13

Nick Faldo: 69-67-73--209 -7

Phil Mickelson: 65-73-72--210 -6

Scott McCarron: 70-70-72--212 -4

David Frost: 70-68-74--212 -4

Duffy Waldorf: 72-71-69--212 -4

Scott Hoch: 67-73-73--213 -3

John Huston: 71-71-71--213 -3

The Last Leg

Greg Norman has led a major tournament after three rounds six times. A look at where he stood and where he finished:

* 1986 MASTERS: Led by one stroke, shot 70 in the final round and finished tied for second, one stroke behind Jack Nicklaus.

* 1986 U.S. OPEN: Led by one stroke, shot 75 in the final round and finished tied for 12th, six strokes behind winner Raymond Floyd.

* 1986 BRITISH OPEN: Led by one stroke, shot 69 in the final round and won the tournament by five shots.

* 1986 PGA: Led by four shots, shot 76 in the final round and finished second, two strokes behind Bob Tway.

* 1993 PGA: Led by one stroke, shot 69 in the final round and finished second after losing in a playoff to Paul Azinger.

* 1995 U.S. OPEN: Co-leader, shot 73 in the final round and finished second, two strokes behind Corey Pavin.