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  • Woods, Norman get into hunt on freaky Friday

  • Friday, Jul. 16
    Frozen moment: Norman's charge derailed

    By Bob Harig
    Special to ESPN.com

    CARNOUSTIE, Scotland -- The atmosphere had become festive, the murmur amongst the spectators turning into a buzz. Greg Norman could feel the positive energy, which is what a couple of birdies on a difficult golf course will do.

     Greg Norman
    Without the triple-bogey on No. 17, Norman would be tied for the lead.

    But on his way to the best round of the British Open, Norman took an unfortunate detour, one he said was forced by the unfair conditions at Carnoustie Golf Links, not so much his own bad driving.

    Norman whiffed on a shot at the par-4 17th hole Thursday, which led to a triple-bogey 7. It dropped him from a tie for the lead to three shots back, which may have served to take some of the focus off the fact that Norman is in contention for his third British Open title.

    "My tee shot was basically three paces off the fairway," Norman said of the 17th. "And I never moved the ball with my second shot. I don't know what happened to it. It just went back down in the divot hole. And either the club went right underneath it or the club never reached the ball.

    "I'm going to have to classify that as an air swing because I didn't feel it hit the clubface. It was one of those things where I don't think hitting a tee shot off the fairway by 9 feet deserves something like that."

    From there, Norman hacked the ball out of the rough, but saw it go across the fairway into more rough. He chipped his fourth shot out, missed the green short with his fifth, chipped on and made a short putt for a triple-bogey 7.

    Norman said the last time he recalls whiffing a shot was sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s at the Australian Open. "I took a 7 there, too," he said.

    And the hole ruined what had been a beautiful round for Norman, the winner of Open Championships in 1986 at Turnberry and in 1993 at Royal St. George's. Norman finished with a 1-under 70 to complete 36 holes at 4-over 146.

    After an opening-round 76, Norman made birdies at the fourth, 12th, 13th and 14th to go 4-under for the day and 1-over for the tournament. Just as quickly, it was gone.

    "I couldn't see the ball," Norman said. "I had to guess where it was because the grass was so thick. I couldn't see down on top of it when I was right over the top. I must admit, I don't think I've been in a situation like that in grass. ... I had a sand wedge and was only trying to hit the ball 12 feet. It wasn't like I was hitting it 100 yards."

    Norman used his misfortune as another opportunity to question the setup of the course -- as many players have been doing this week.

    "We don't mind difficult conditions," he said. "Right now, the golf course is playing difficult because it has been more manufactured than anything else."

    Nonetheless, Norman is in contention for the first time since finishing third at The Masters, with just a few players between him and the lead.

    "The 7, I accept it. I don't like it," Norman said. "I don't like the circumstances how I got it, but we got it. We've got to play with that now. Four-over is not very far from the lead come the end of the day. My whole ambition going out there today was to get it around 71. ... I knew plus-5 was going to be right there in the hunt.

    "I didn't anticipate the conditions being a little more accessible in the morning score-wise. But forgetting the 7, I really did what I wanted to do. I put myself in position come weekend time."

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