Don’t Call Norman a Character Witness

Greg Norman returned to the scene of one of his greatest triumphs, the 1993 British Open at Royal St. George’s, and found the course in better shape than his back.

Norman, 48, has been battling a vertebra problem since February and played only two events.

“It’s unfortunate wear and tear,” Norman said Tuesday. “About four million golf balls has created the problem.”

Norman said he is happy to be busy enough with his golf businesses to be able to walk away from the competitive part when it’s time, but he laments the lack of personalities on the professional tour.

There are no players like Craig Stadler and Seve Ballesteros anymore, Norman said.

“Or myself when I was younger,” he said. “I had a bit of flair. I wore my heart on my sleeve.”

He no longer sees much of that in the current crop of young players.

“They could show a little more character,” he said. “When you talk to the guys off the golf course and when you play a practice round with them, they’ve got it in them. But when they walk on the first tee, this is the way it’s going to be.

“If somebody comes out with a bit of flair and a bit of character about them, a bit of charisma, and can play on top of that, he’s the next guy everybody is going to put their saddle on.”

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Tiger Woods caused a stir on the BBC when he seemed to criticize Paul Lawrie, the 1999 British Open champion. Woods was asked if there was a connection between quirky golf courses and a quirky role of champions in the sense of surprising winners.

Said Woods: “No, I don’t think so at all, because if that was to be true, then ’99 in Carnoustie, one of the best golf courses in the world, if not the best golf course in the world, the most difficult, I think the winner says it all right there.”

Woods later explained that he thought Lawrie is a good player and that the question he was answering was about surprising winners.

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Notable groupings: Tom Watson, Sandy Lyle and Fred Couples; Thomas Levet, Retief Goosen and David Duval; Justin Leonard, Norman and Jose Maria Olazabal; Nick Faldo, Tom Lehman and Thomas Bjorn; Vijay Singh, Rich Beem and John Daly; Phil Mickelson, Lawrie and Adam Scott; Nick Price, Ricky Barnes and Justin Rose.

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By the numbers:

1,162,000 -- dollars for winner of the 2003 British Open.

100,000 -- advance ticket sales for the 2003 Open.

106 -- bunkers at Royal St. George’s.

66 -- dollars for a ticket to Sunday’s fourth round.

12 -- Open championships at Royal St. George’s.

2 -- Open championships at Royal St. George’s won by Harry Vardon (1899, 1911) and Walter Hagen (1922, 1928).

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According to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, which oversees the British Open, a 36-page, illustrated book offers spectators a hole-by-hole guide to wildlife at Royal St. George’s.

The highlights: first tee -- lizard orchid; sixth fairway -- skylark; ninth hole -- lizard, brown hare, hen harrier; and 18th hole -- pied wagtail, wheatear, spotted flycatcher.

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The forecast is always important for the British Open, and weathermen are keeping their eyes on a low-pressure system developing over Portugal. Rain and possible thunderstorms are possible by this afternoon and cooler weather is expected Thursday.