|
Greg Norman crashes out with an 82
Greg Norman finally has
admitted that he is unlikely ever to wear the green jacket.
"This place may have finally
done me in," a disconsolate Norman said after shooting 10-over-par
82 in the second round at the Masters on Friday.
It was not only his worst
ever score in 74 rounds at Augusta National, but his worst round
in any major.
At the age of 46, Norman
acknowledged that he has all but run out of chances in his quest
to win the one title he wants above all others.
"I have been in love with
this place for all these years, but it hasn't been in love with
me," Norman said.
"I'm a realist. I know
my time is short to win here," admitted golf's great white Shark,
who has had more heartbreaks at Augusta than he cares to remember
-- three runner-up finishes and three third placings.
 |
|
Greg
Norman chips into the 1st green. Allsport.
|
His most unforgettable Augusta
collapse came in 1996 when Norman led by six shots going into the
final round but wound up losing by five to hand Nick Faldo his third
Masters title.
Norman said he wasn't suffering
from any injury problems this week. Instead, he just had one of
those rounds that can happen at Augusta, a combination of some bad
shots and some bad breaks.
After a solid 71 on Thursday,
the popular Australian teed off in Friday's second group thinking
more about making a run at the lead than packing his bags to head
home.
He did not have any single
disaster hole, instead running up 10 bogeys to go with eight pars.
But if there was one pivotal hole, it was the par-four seventh.
Not only did his drive
stop in an unfilled divot, but his second shot finished in a fried-egg
lie in a greenside bunker. It was then that he knew it wasn't going
to be his day as he made bogey, then bogeyed the next four holes
as well.
"That was it," Norman said
of the seventh hole. "Nothing really went my way. At the end of
the day you lose momentum and focus. Of course it's disappointing."
A two-time British Open
winner, Norman may have played his last Masters. He still hopes
to earn an exemption for next year, but that would probably only
set him up for more Masters misery.
|
