AUGUSTA — Pick Greg Norman to win The Masters and you’re laughed at as if you just announced to friends that you’ve purchased waterfront vacation property on the Arthur Kill in Staten Island.
Pick Greg Norman to win The Masters and you’re either not taken seriously, simply ridiculed or both.
Based on Norman’s many meltdowns and miraculous runs of unthinkable bad luck during his 19-year Masters tragicomedy, to believe he’ll never win this event is perfectly understandable.
However, mystical things happen at Augusta National, and that’s why you shouldn’t rule out Norman finally being fitted for the Green Jacket come Sunday afternoon on the venerable 18th green.
He’s put himself in position enough times, including last year when he dueled Jose Maria Olazabal to the finish.
Certainly, there isn’t a better sentimental story than Norman here this week as the first major of the season tees off with today’s first round.
And, to look at the incredible stories that have dominated The Masters over the years — such as Jack Nicklaus’ 1986 victory at age 46, Ben Crenshaw’s improbable 1995 win the week his mentor Harvey Penick died, Faldo’s comeback on Norman in 1996, Larry Mize’s chip-in to beat Norman in that 1987 playoff and Olazabal’s comeback last year from a debilitating foot injury — why not a Norman win in his 20th try in the year 2000?
Then again, maybe we’re just dreamers.
After all, at age 45, Norman has acknowledged that, including this week, he might have only two more legit chances to win here.
And, no one wants that Green Jacket more than Norman, which as we all know can be a detriment.
“I think Greg Norman wants to win this golf tournament as much as he wants to take his next breath,” Arnold Palmer said. “That may be part of the problem. The only thing I can say about that is you probably are denying yourself only because you want it so badly. Sometimes wanting it so badly makes it even more difficult to accomplish.”
Sample the Norman train wrecks and nightmares over the years:
In 1986, he needed only a par on the 18th hole to get into a playoff with Nicklaus, but he flew his approach shot over the green and made bogey to finished tied for second. That year, the height of Norman’s career, he led all four majors after 54 holes and won only the British Open.
In 1987, he had one arm into a sleeve of a 44 regular Green Jacket when Mize holed that 140-foot chip on the second playoff hole to steal victory.
In 1995, he needed a birdie on the 17th hole for a chance to make a run at Ben Crenshaw. With a sand wedge in his hands, he failed to get close and tied for third.
In 1996, he blew a six-stroke lead in the final round and finished five shots behind Faldo in second place in what many consider one of the greatest collapses in the history of sports.
Last year, Norman made yet another charge at his most coveted title, dueling down the stretch with Olazabal only to falter on the final five holes and finish third. The most surreal moment of that final round was Norman losing a ball in the azalea flower beds behind the 12th green.
“It’s a shame he hasn’t won it,” Tiger Woods said. “It’s tough to imagine going through something like that and keep coming back again and again and again. It’s a credit to what kind of person he is.”
Indeed it is. Poke fun all you want at Norman, but that he continues to come back to Augusta, tee it up and put himself in contention has to be viewed as some sort of mental fortitude.
Norman has finished second three times (Tom Weiskopf holds the record with four runner-up finishes in The Masters without winning), third three times, fourth, fifth and sixth once.
And all the while, he refuses to let his wild shortcomings saturate his mind.
Norman said CBS commentator Jim Nantz asked him recently, “If you come into Butler Cabin [after a Masters win] what’s the first question you’d want me to ask you?”
Norman’s answer: “Why? Why did it take so long?”
“If I thought about that, though, I’d go crazy,” Norman said. “To analyze some of the situations that I’ve been in around here and come up with a logical answer is not logical. It has been interesting. I’ve got to say, in the 20 years I’ve been here, it has been a huge emotional roller coaster.”
Norman, because of his dramatic twists of fortune, has been defined by the public for his failures here, which is something he resents.
“People like to think of all the bad things that have happened to me here, but I don’t,” Norman said. “I flood myself with memories of the good shots. Sure, I can think about the great shots that have happened against me because they were great shots. I don’t ever let the negative energy of this place come in and try to pollute my mind.”
If that is indeed the case, then Norman could find himself right back in contention this weekend. Goodness knows, he’ll have huge galleries willing him on — much like they did last year when he was making his run against Olazabal on the back nine Sunday.
“I haven’t played in front of that type of emotion ever in my life, not even in my home country,” Norman recalled. “I could actually feel the energy inside the ropes, knowing there’s 90-percent of the people trying to pick that ball up and put it in the hole for you.
“The 13th hole [on which he drilled a bomb of an eagle putt to wild cheers] will be deeply etched in my mind until the day I die, and I’ll probably still have it … wherever I’m going.”
Hopefully for Norman — and if The Masters mystique still exists — he’ll have an even more special memory to embrace by about 8 p.m. Sunday.
“I want to see Greg win the Masters,” Olazabal said. “Then I think he can retire in peace.”