‘Great White Shark’ Welcomed Back To Augusta

10/04/2009 04:12

Norman greeted warmly upon return to Augusta

Greg Norman is back at Augusta National and even his rivals want to see him do well in his surprising return to the Masters.

"The Shark," whose near misses have

become part of Masters lore, qualified for a 23rd appearance in the tournament and first since 2002 with a stunning performance at the British Open last summer at Royal Birkdale, where he tied for third.

"When I used to come in here in the '80s and '90s, and you expected to do well, people were pulling for you and other people were not pulling for you, too," Norman said at a news conference on Tuesday.

"Now it seems like everyone is pulling for me.

"I was just in the locker-room, and it's different. Even the players are, 'Hey, play well, play well, play well.' I know in the '80s, they were not coming up to me and saying, 'Hey Greg, play well,' that's for sure."

The 54-year-old Australian, twice a winner of the British Open, has always been open about his love for the Masters and his desire to win it. It has been an unrequited love.

"Some of the bad stuff was self-inflicted and some of it wasn't," Norman said.

The former world No. 1 had the heartbreak of losing a playoff for the green jacket in 1987 when Larry Mize chipped in from 45 yards.

A year earlier, he was overtaken by a now famous back-nine charge from Jack Nicklaus.

But the most bitter pill of all came in 1996 after Norman fired a 63 on his way to a six-shot lead heading to the final round.

With the world expecting him to finally get that first Masters win and don the green jacket, Norman posted a 78 and lost to playing partner Nick Faldo by five shots.

Norman had his Birkdale breakout while on an extended honeymoon with his wife, Chris Evert, the former tennis great whom he credits with helping him in his competitive revival.

"We like to lament a lot of times over what we have done and what we haven't done," he said about their careers. "It's interesting because she went through 13 times getting beaten by Martina (Navratilova) ... I went 22 times without winning the Masters."

SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:

Wouldn’t it be quite the story, folks, if somehow Greg Norman could turn back the hands of time and contend this week? It's possible. He's -2 after his first round and in good shape.