Greg Norman Biography - Two British Titles, Many Failures, Agony At Augusta, Still Hugely Successful, Chronology, Selected Writings By Norman:
Norman, Masters, Tournaments, Four, Open, Led, British, and Major
1955-
Australian golfer
Greg Norman is professional golf's all-time leading money winner. He was the first golfer to reach $10 million in earnings and from 1986 through 1990, was ranked number one four times. He won the British Open in 1986 and 1993. Norman, nicknamed the "Great White Shark," during the 1981 Masters tournament, is extremely popular with the public and the media.
Yet Norman's knack for failure in many big tournaments, particularly the Masters, is legend, and he has lost a playoff in each of the four major tournaments. In 1993, he actually led all four major tournaments entering the final round but only captured the British Open. In 1996, he led the Masters by six strokes only to shoot 78 in the final round losing to Nick Faldo by five strokes. Fate worked against him again in 1987 when Larry Mize beat him for the Masters championship with a miracle chip shot. "Norman remains an enigmatic figure, a man whose talent was never questioned but whose heart often was," Ron Flatter wrote in a sports-century biography for ESPN.com. "Much the same way as (baseball's) Bill Buckner and (football's) Scott Norwood are remembered for singular plays, Norman's good name is underscored by eye-popping failures."
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Norman was raised in Mount Isa, Queensland, an Australian mining town, and caddied for his mother for six years. He earned his first professional victory in 1976, his first year as a pro, when he captured the West Lakes Classic outside Adelaide. He won about 20 tournaments overseas before his first victory in the United States, the Kemper Open outside Washington, D.C. in 1984. His first disappoint…
Three frustrating finishes in 1986 paled in comparison to Norman's nightmarish defeat in the 1987 Masters. "As if losing one major to an unlikely shot were not punishment enough, Norman would experience golf's
Greg Norman
version of the cruel and unusual in the very next Grand Slam tournament," wrote Flatter. In the second playoff hole, Mize's pitch shot f…
Despite his legendary near misses, Norman can boast of 20 PGA Tour victories, including his two British Opens, and 66 international titles. He played a lighter schedule in 2002, competing in only 13 Tour events, making the cut 10 times and withdrawing once. A year earlier, he won $1 million at the 2001 Skins Game, shutting out Tiger Woods, Colin Montgomerie and Jesper Parnevik. And, in 2000, despi…
Norman, Greg and Don Lawrence. Greg Norman: My Story, London, England: Harrap, 1983. Norman, Greg and George Peper. Shark Attack: Greg Norman's Guide to Aggressive Golf, New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1988. Norman, Greg and George Peper. Greg Norman's Instant Lessons, New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1993.
Advanced Golf/Greg Norman, Rutland, Vt.: Journey Editions, …
Litke, Jim. "Shark Shakes Loser's Stigma." Daily Freeman (July 19, 1993): 14. "Stormin' Norman: Shark Attacks Past, Wins British Open." Daily Freeman (July 19, 1993): 13. Berlet, Bruce. "Title Search: Tour Sponsor Situation a Growing Concern." Hartford Courant, http:/www.ctnow.com/sports, (December 15, 2002). Faires, Billy. "On Greg No…
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