ESPN.com - Golf Online - Masters 2000 - Norman back for another run at Augusta

By David Kraft
ESPN Golf Online
Thursday, April 6

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- They brought Greg Norman in to face the media at The Masters on Tuesday, which -- all things considered -- could be termed cruel and unusual punishment.


	Greg Norman has nine top-10 finishes at Augusta without a victory.

For if anyone should be granted the peace to forget, it should be Norman, the lovable loser who's become a sentimental Masters favorite -- not for what he has done, but for what he has failed to do; namely, win a green jacket.

Norman and The Masters are a unique marriage that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. He's played here 19 times, made 15 cuts and finished as high as second on three occasions. He's cashed a little more than $1 million of Masters money.

"It's heaven," Norman says of coming to Augusta. "It's pure golf."

And at times, it's pure golf hell. Norman's closet has something missing. He knows it. His fellow pros know it. The galleries know it. And in the high-stakes game of winning majors -- especially The Masters, where legendary status is cemented -- that leaves him no better than the countless players who have come to Augusta National and left humbled and sans jacket.

Norman knows that, too.

"The 20 years I've been here has been a huge emotional roller coaster," he said.

Say this for Norman: He doesn't stumble quietly. Two of his losses were spectacular -- in 1996, he led by six shots opening the final round, but in a remarkable collapse, lost by five to Nick Faldo. And in 1987 he watched a potential winning putt slide by on No. 18, then saw Larry Mize chip in from 140 feet on the second playoff hole.

He also tied for second in 1986 -- losing to Jack Nicklaus -- after leading through three rounds. Nicklaus shot a final-round 65 to win by a single shot.

Norman at Augusta
Year	Finish	Score
1999	3	283 (-5)
1998	Cut	--
1997	Cut	--
1996	2	281 (-7)
1995	T-3	277 (-11)
1994	T-18	292 (+4)
1993	T-31	290 (+2)
1992	T-6	281 (-7)
1991	Cut	--
1990	Cut	--
1989	T-3	284 (-4)
1988	T-5	285 (-3)
1987	T-2	285 (-3)
1986	T-2	280 (-8)
1985	T-47	298 (+10)
1984	T-25	288 (Even)
1983	T-30	294 (+6)
1982	T-36	300 (+12)
1981	4	283 (-5)

Norman was third last year at 5-under -- and actually took the lead for a brief moment with an eagle at the par-5 13th.

"That 13th hole will probably be deeply etched in my mind until the day I die," Norman said.

But Jose Maria Olazabal followed Norman's eagle with a birdie of his own just seconds later to draw even at 7-under. Norman missed the fairway at No. 14 and left with a bogey. He then bogeyed 15 -- a hole he had birdied on Saturday - which left him knocking on the door of Butler Cabin, once again unable to get in to where the winner first dons his green jacket.

Norman answers the questions of why he's been cursed at Augusta National with a smile and a nod. "If I thought about that, I'd go crazy," he said.

"To analyze some of the situations that I've been in around here and come up with a logical answer is not logical, in my mind," Norman said.

He has the sympathy of at least some of his colleagues.

"It's a shame that he hasn't won it because he's such a great player," said Tiger Woods, the odds-on favorite to keep Norman winless at The Masters. "With all the heartbreaks he's had in this tournament, be it his own doing or other players. ... It's tough for me to imagine somebody going through all that and coming back and putting himself in position (to win).

"That to me is a credit to what kind of a person he is, what kind of insides he has," Woods said.

Norman even has a fan in the defending champion. Olazabal was asked who he would like to win the golf tournament if he couldn't.

"Obviously a Spaniard first," he said. "But if that isn't the case, I will go for Greg"

With that background, Norman returns to the lush greenery of Augusta, seeking victory. Now 45, he knows time is working against him. Nicklaus won The Masters at 46 in 1986. Ben Crenshaw was 43 when he won in 1995. Gary Player won at 42 in 1978. Only Mark O'Meara (41), Sam Snead (41) and Ben Hogan (40) have been older than 39.

Norman thinks he has two more years of playing top-caliber golf in major championships.

"Reality is reality," Norman said. "Age is age. Kids are getting younger; we get older. We all look at them and say they're so young. We're just getting older. That's all it is. That's why it's a realistic goal in my mind that I can compete in the next eight major championships."

Norman has shown no signs of challenging for the lead this year. He has played four times, finishing 12th at Doral, but 53rd at The Players Championship and tied for 30th last week at the BellSouth Classic. He also lost in the first round to O'Meara in the Match Play Championship.

But there's something about Augusta. About The Masters. About trying to erase a two-decade streak of bad luck no one would wish upon their worst enemy.

"It's one of the few golf courses in the world that can (make me emotional)," Norman said. "I just feel good here. You know, I like the place. I like the atmosphere. I like the feeling."

Norman was talking with a friend, CBS Sports' Jim Nantz, about The Masters recently. Norman recalls Nantz asking him what he would like to be asked if he were to win.

"Basically, why did it take so long," he said.

Why indeed.


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