Shark Green Around Gills After 82

It must be that Greg Norman has some sort of deal with the Masters. It works this way: He keeps coming back and Augusta National keeps knocking him on his rear.

This offbeat arrangement continued Friday when Norman shot a 10-over 82 and missed the cut.

It was the worst Norman has played in 72 rounds covering 21 appearances at the Masters.

“Ugly, that’s it, period,” he said.

Norman has nine top 10s at the Masters, including seconds in 1986, 1987 and 1996, which was his most famous runner-up finish. He flopped with a 78 in the last round and lost to Nick Faldo.

While the Masters continues to be the major Norman covets most, it also represents his most elusive target . . . not to mention his most frustrating one.

Norman began the day at one under and was two over for the day when he reached the seventh hole. But he drove into a sand divot, then landed in a bunker and bogeyed the hole. It was the first of five consecutive bogeys. Norman’s round of 41-41 broke down to eight pars and 10 bogeys. His previous worst round was his opening 80 last year when he came back with a 68 and tied for 11th.

“Was there anything that resembled a round of golf?” Norman said. “No. Everything was wrong. You’ve just got to take it and move on.”

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The award for the most rollicking nine holes of the day goes to Ian Woosnam, who shot a 37 on the back side with six birdies, two 8s and a par. Woosnam’s 77 left him on the wrong side of the cut at four over.

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Since he won in 1996, Faldo has missed the cut in four of the last five Masters and not shot a round in the 60s. He left here Friday after shooting 75-76--151, seven over.

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Darren Clarke changed putters and used the replacement to make six birdie putts in shooting 67, five under.

Said Clarke, “I was just trying to get the ball to the hole better.”

Good strategy.

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For what it’s worth, Fred Couples has played the Masters 17 times and has made the cut every time. This one was close, though. He had rounds of 74-71 and his one-over total of 145 was right on the line.

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Greg Puga’s first Masters experience lasted two days. With rounds of 76-80, the Bel-Air caddie missed the cut.

“I’m a little bit disappointed,” he said. “I can’t be too disappointed . . . this is the Masters. I’m just discouraged how I struck the ball.”

Puga made an 8 on the par-four 11th hole, but said he didn’t think he’d embarrassed himself in the two days. He said one of his highlights was playing a practice round Wednesday with Arnold Palmer.

“I was walking to the range before my practice round and on my way there, I was signing autographs,” Puga said. “I approached Arnold and he was looking at me with his hands on his hips. He looked kind of mad. He said to me, ‘You need to fix that.’ I looked down and my fly was open.

“So I embarrassed myself twice this week--an eight on 11 and my fly was open.”

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Question to Palmer: Does it get old, being paired with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player?

Palmer: “They are old, but it doesn’t get old.”

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Looking for a sign it’s about time to pack it in? Ben Crenshaw, 49, shot a 15-over 159. Palmer, 71, was one shot better.

Crenshaw, who has made the cut in one tournament in three years, beat only two players in the field--Tommy Aaron, 64, and Billy Casper, 69.