AUGUSTA, Ga. - The gallery began to grow during the last few holes of the opening nine as word spread that Greg Norman was again in the lead at The Masters. The crowd was even larger by the turn and downright huge by the time Norman reached the beginning of Amen Corner -- the three-hole stretch of Augusta National Golf Club that can often spell the difference between heaven and hell for golfers seeking a major championship.
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| Norman hadn't been under par in a round at Augusta since 1996. |
Augusta National has given Norman more than his fair share of grief. His outfit of black and white on Friday was perfect. It was an indication of no middle ground at a place he loves, yet at the same time provides the nightmares that haunt an otherwise spectacular career.
Nearly a year after shoulder surgery took Norman off the course and into a world of uncertainty, he was back stalking the elusive green jacket. He wasn't among the pre-tournament favorites, but at this moment he was making a run. He came into the round at 1-under-par and made bogey on the opening hole, but he fought back with birdies at Nos. 2, 3 and 5, moving to 3-under by the turn.
After a solid par at the 485-yard par-4 10th, he arrived at Amen Corner with the same steely look he wore during the more than 300 weeks between the late 1980s and early 1990s when he was ranked as the world's No. 1 player. The patrons started yelling "Shark" and "Let's go Greg" as Norman walked from the green at No. 10 to the tee at the 11th .
"They've always been great here, whether it's 1991 or 1999," Norman later said of the gallery. "I've always had a great rapport with them and today was no different. I think they were enjoying it as much as I was."
Amen Corner was christened by noted writer Herbert Warren Wind in 1958, a tribute to the treacherous stretch that has claimed more than one potential champion.
No. 11 -- named White Dogwood -- is a 455-yard par-4. A pond guards the green on the left and the wind often is a deciding factor. No. 12 - Golden Bell - is the infamous 155-yard par-3, with Rae's Creek and a bunker protecting the front and two bunkers in the back. The 13th - Azalea - is a 485-yard par-5, which is reachable in two. A tributary to Rae's Creek is in front and there are four bunkers in the back, making the decision to go for it all that more difficult.
"You have to pay attention there," said Fred Couples, whose iron off the tee to the 12th should have rolled into the water during the final in 1992, but miraculously held up on the bank and allowed him to eventually win the tournament.
Norman was very steady at the 11th, hitting a good drive, a decent approach and two-putting for par. As he headed to the 12th tee, it was clear he was suddenly the sentimental favorite as applause was heard though the massive pine trees scattered nearby.
He fired a 7-iron at the pin and watched as it checked up about 25 feet from the hole. Moments later he dropped the putt, which cause an electric commotion through the course that was heard all the way back to the clubhouse
The Shark was in the lead at The Masters.
"He was playing the way he needed to play," playing partner Phil Mickelson said. "He attacked when he needed to attack. He was putting the ball in play off the tee and attacking when he needed to."
The confidence was oozing from Norman now, and after he ripped his drive at the 13th, he walked down the fairway with a sense of purpose. As he came to his ball, he had 190 to the water and more than 200 to the green. He took a club from caddie Tony Navarro, went through his pre-shot routine and then backed off. He switched clubs and then switched again, indecision playing with his mind and the momentum.
Go for it or lay up?
"My first thought was laying up," Norman recalled. "When I addressed the ball (the first time), I put my 6-iron behind the ball and I said, 'This is perfect.' Then I put a 2-iron there to see what it looked like, and it was a 3-iron shot, but it was sitting up so beautifully.
"Tony said to me if I missed the ball to the left of the green, I'd have no shot because I have a tendency when the ball's above my feet to pull it. So my choices weren't that easy. But I could have easily hit a 3-iron on the middle of the green, where it would have been a tough two-putt. And Tony said just lay it up, and I laid it up. That's what convinced me to do it."
Now hitting three, Norman grabbed a sand wedge and stuck it within a foot of the hole.
"On a scale of 1-to-10, that was a 9½," he said. "I would give it a 10, if it had gone in. It was a great shot. I had to really play it with a lot of authority because you needed the backspin on it to chuck it up because you only have about four yards of green up top to play with.
"That's what tough about these par 5s. Whether it's the second or third shot, it's not an easy shot. Even if you're trying to hit 13 in two, it's still difficult. It's very difficult to find the perfect lay-up."
Norman tapped in and moved to 5-under for the first time since the ill-fated 1996 tournament. The crowd went nuts, and while he parred in the rest of the way, the buzz continued through the end of the round. Even though Jose Maria Olazabal (8-under) and Scott McCarron (7-under) are in front of him and Lee Janzen is even with him at 5-under, the spotlight is shining directly on the man wearing the hat that read "Attack Life."
"It's great to be in this position," he said. "It's great when you've worked yourself so hard to get back into it. It's great from the fact I feel a little less sense of urgency when I approach things on the golf course or off the golf course.
"I don't reflect on things, whether it was two years ago or packing my bags early last year. I've never done that. I've always been one for what's done is done and it's time to move on. Right now, I'm feeling extremely relaxed and in control of what I'm doing."
Despite the instance that 1996 is a distant memory, it's hard to ignore the fabled train wreck. Norman led Nick Faldo by six shots heading into the final round, but a 78 coupled with Faldo's 67 provided another major heartbreak.
If Norman stays around the lead, expect the past three years to be dredged up again.
"I don't know what my destiny is," he said. "All I want to do is just go play well. I don't feel this place owes me anything. I don't believe in being owed. I think you go out and play well enough to get things yourself. What is the definition of destiny? I've played out here long enough to see things happen, where things have happened for me and against me & I'm just going to go out and see again what happens."
