The ‘Shark’ on the turf
What makes Greg Norman the Golfing legend he is? We take a look at some of his major hits and misses

Australian born Gregory John Norman also known by his popular nickname ‘The Great White Shark’ or simply ‘The Shark’ was born on February 10, 1955. He spent 331 weeks as the world’s number one ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s. The nickname Shark is a reference to Norman’s size, aggressive golf style and blond locks. Though Norman is recognised as the icon of the golf hall of fame, it was not turf-teeing that was his favourite recreational sport as a youth. Cricket and rugby were what the young Norman loved most among sporting activities. His mother, Tonini Norman, interestingly, was an excellent golfer with a handicap in the low single digits and Norman, in all likelihood, developed an interest for the game through her. However, it was only at the age of 16 that Norman was first introduced to golf, playing to a scratch handicap after just a year into the game.

Norman’s career as a professional golfer began when he was inducted as a trainee into the Royal Queensland golf shop for the famed Charlie Earp. Norman earned a modest AUD 28 a week as a golfer here. He claimed his first turf victory in his first ever professional tournament when he won the 1976 Westlakes Classic in his home country Australia. Soon, more successes followed on the European Tour and later the PGA Tour.

The years 1986, 1993 and 1994 saw Norman swiping win after win – The Open Champoinship and The Players Champoinship, setting a record-breaking average of 68.81 per round for the year 1994. However, Norman’s good run hit quite a few road blocks in the form of his myriad near-misses at The Masters, the US Open and the PGA Champoinship. His own bad luck and the good fortune of his opponents resulted in heavy losses among them the near-certain loss of the PGA Champoinship in 1986 when he played Bod Tway and The Masters loss the following year in a playoff with Larry Mize.

While some of Norman’s turf woes were the result of stiff competition from his fellow golfers, a good number of them were the result of his own failure to perform. Such as in 1986 when he led all four majors in the third round but won only the British Open. This is humourously referred to as the ‘Saturday Slam’ for Norman led in third round till Saturday but lost in the finals on Sunday. But even these pale in comparison to his next major miss at The Masters in 1996. In what is perhaps Norman’s most embarassing meltdown the tournament went to Nick Faldo by five strokes. However, despite his losses, Norman still has 29 top-ten finishes in the majors. Following a career slump in the early 1990s, Norman well-known coach and instructor Butch Harmon for help. The two reconstructed Norman’s game to top-notch form by solving mechanical problems which had crept into Norman’s swing.

Nonetheless, Norman was never the same after his final Masters collapse. He now turned his golfing accumen to lucrative business ventures such as golf course desgin. Among his many assignments is the popular 18-hole course he is designing for Oman’s Wave project. His friendly nature, affable image and articulate eloquence has also made him a perfect spokesman for a wide range of golfing products, including the usual array of golf equipment, and his is part owner of MacGregor Golf.

Apart from golf, Norman’s other passion and hobby is game fishing. He even described his ‘ugly’ 1993 PGA Champoinship loss in fishing lingo – “This was a mackeral in the moonlight – shining one minute and smelly the next”. He has owned a succession of large, luxurious boats for the pursuit of his fishing hobby and the latest Aussie Rules is best described as a small ship! The 228ft luxury yacht built by Australia-based ferry builder Austal/Oceanfast held four sports boats, including a 60ft custom sportfisherman, was built entirely of aluminum and could cruise at 15 knots with a range of 8,000 Nm. The boat cost Norman a whopping $70 million but Austal lost AUD 18 million from the venture. Norman sold the boat for a reported $77 million to the founder of Blockbuster Video, Wayne Huizenga. Norman was also an early customer for the Boeing Business Jet which he had made to order with custom fitted bedroom and office.

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