Back on His Feat

It ended in tears Sunday afternoon at Augusta National, which is pretty much the norm whenever Greg Norman jockeys for the lead during the final round of the Masters.

By now, it deserves its own bronze and marble historical marker, maybe planted in the shadow of the Eisenhower Pine: On this site in (pick a year), Greg Norman’s quest to win the Masters met a sorry demise.

Only this time, no one wept for Norman. Not the gallery, which roared its approval when Norman briefly reclaimed the lead from Jose Maria Olazabal with a spectacular eagle putt on the 13th hole. Not Norman, who immediately followed that eagle with back-to-back bogeys, finishing the tournament in third place behind Olazabal and Davis Love III, three strokes back.

“This is not a heartbreak,” Norman insisted in front of a roomful of amateur psychologists disguised as notepad-toting members of the press. “Look at that leaderboard. There’s probably a lot of other guys here who can sit here and say they’re heartbroken. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill on this one.”

No, the tears came from Olazabal, first as he broke down while being questioned about his second Masters triumph by television people in Butler Cabin, then in the interview room when asked what was the first thing he intended to do when he returned to his home in the Spanish Pyrenees.

Olazabal thought for a moment about the agonizing foot ailments that sidelined him for 18 months in 1996 and 1997, about the two months during the summer of 1996 when he was unable to walk at all, about the medical misdiagnoses of his condition and various predictions that he’d never walk a golf course again.

Olazabal paused for a long time and gulped hard and then placed his right hand in front of his eyes, wiping them again and again as they welled up.

Finally, he choked out a response:

“I . . . will embrace . . . my family, for sure.”

He also said he had to thank Dr. Hans Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfhart, the German homeopathic specialist who saved his career, determining that the pain was caused by a biomechanical hitch in his lower back, not the rheumatoid foot arthritis that so many other doctors had maintained.

“Without him, I wouldn’t be standing here,” Olazabal said. “I think I won this tournament because of him . . . I will thank him personally because I think this victory, part of it belongs to him too.”

Olazabal, who won his first green jacket in 1994, joined an elite list of repeat champions Sunday by shooting a one-under-par round of 71 to hold off a fleet of challengers en route to an eight-under-par tournament score of 280.

Love, runner-up here for the second time in four years, also carded a final round of 71 to finish at six-under, 282. Next was Norman (five-under, 283), second in 1986 and 1987 and victim of the notorious final-day collapse in 1996, when he began the fourth round with a six-stroke lead and ended it, 18 excruciating holes later, trailing by five.

Tied for fourth at four-under 284 were Bob Estes and Steve Pate, who followed his record seven consecutive birdies on Saturday with only two birdies and three bogeys.

Olazabal shot only one round under 70--Friday’s 66, his best ever at Augusta--but outclassed the rest of the field basically by avoiding the single-hole disaster. Olazabal started shakily Sunday with three consecutive bogeys on holes 3, 4 and 5, but made par or better the rest of the way--including a dramatic birdie putt from 21 feet on No. 13.

That shot came only a couple of deep breaths after Norman electrified the gallery with his 27-foot eagle putt on the same hole, giving him, for a few ticks of the clock, at least, the lead at seven-under--a stroke ahead of Olazabal.

Olazabal waited for the noise to die down, looked the long route to the hole over a few times, stepped up and calmly knocked in a 21-footer for a birdie that kept him tied with Norman.

What, Jose Maria worry?

“Greg Norman hit a wonderful putt,” Olazabal said. “As soon as he hit it, it looked to me like it was going in all the way. And while that ball was rolling, I was saying to myself, ‘Just make yours.’ ”

When Olazabal did, Norman simply grinned, winked at his rival and pointed a finger, as if to say, “Well done.”

“I knew then, ‘The game is on,’ ” Norman said.

And almost as quickly, it was off. If Olazabal had thrown down the gauntlet on the 13th green, Norman fumbled it with bogeys on 14 and 15 and by missing a makable birdie putt on 16. By then, Olazabal was three strokes ahead of Norman. When Olazabal rescued a drive into the trees for a par on 17, he said, “I knew the jacket would be mine.”

As both golfers finished their approach shots on No. 18, Olazabal waited for Norman before beginning his final climb up the slope, golf’s equivalent to the victory lap. Rather than taking it alone, Olazabal preferred to share the gallery’s applause by walking side by side with Norman.

The two have become good friends through their off-course trials of recent years, sending notes and making phone calls while Olazabal struggled with his physical maladies and Norman recovered from 1998 shoulder surgery. When it was over, Olazabal hugged Norman and told him, “Keep on trying. You deserve the jacket. Hopefully, you’ll get it.”

Which might explain Norman’s tranquil mood in the aftermath, describing the day as a bittersweet stew of success tinged with sadness--much preferable to menu he was force-fed on this course in 1996.

“I feel 80% success, 20% failure right now,” Norman said. “That’s the way I feel right now.

“Whereas back in ‘96, there was probably 90% disappointment--no, 98%, no, 99% disappointment. Yeah, there’s a heck of a difference.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

MASTERS FINISH LINE

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL

$720,000

70-66-73-71--280 -8

*

DAVIS LOVE III

$432,000

69-72-70-71--282 -6

*

GREG NORMAN

$272,000

71-68-71-73--283 -5

*

BOB ESTES

$176,000

71-72-69-72--284 -4

*

STEVE PATE

$176,000

71-75-65-73--284 -4

*

DAVID DUVAL

$125,200

71-74-70-70--285 -3

*

CARLOS FRANCO

$125,200

72-72-68-73--285 -3

*

PHIL MICKELSON

$125,200

74-69-71-71--285 -3

*

NICK PRICE

$125,200

69-72-72-72--285 -3

*

LEE WESTWOOD

$125,200

75-71-68-71--285 -3

OTHERS

TIGER WOODS

$52,160

72-72-70-75--289 +1

*

JUSTIN LEONARD

$52,160

70-72-73-74--289 +1

*

ERNIE ELS

$29,000

71-72-69-80--292 +4

*

FRED COUPLES

$29,000

74-71-76-71--292 +4

*

MARK O’MEARA

$23,720

70-76-69-78--293 +5

NOTES

The David Duval and Tiger Woods matchup never developed as both struggled.

Page 6

Showdown Lowdown

Lowest career scoring average at the Masters: *--*

Player Rounds Average Fred Couples 60 71.55 Tom Watson 96 71.59 Jose Maria Olazabal 44 71.61 Jack Nicklaus 151 71.64 Jerry Pate 28 71.96 Steve Elkington 28 71.97 Greg Norman 68 72.10

*--*

Most money won at the Masters, career:

Jose Maria Olazabal: $1,503,420

Greg Norman: $1,039,875

Nick Faldo: $1,009,936

Fred Couples: $936,333

Ben Crenshaw: $909,675