Before Tiger and Phil
Hello. I'm old enough to remember what the PGA Tour was like before Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Its biggest star was a guy named Greg Norman.
As Tom Rinaldi of ABC correctly said during last week's British Open, Greg Norman was Tiger before Tiger. He had the charisma and talent Tiger has. He's still arguably the longest straight hitter ever. And he captured the imagination.
Last week he was all of the above, leading the Open after 63 holes, and eventually finishing tied for 3rd.
To say this was a shock is an understatement. Norman probably wouldn't have played if not for his new bride, Chris Evert. In the past he was just there as a former Open champion. As Paul Azinger correctly said, you would've picked 100 guys in the field to win before the 53-year-old.
While Norman had a Hall of Fame career, he also holds some dubious records. He's the only one to achieve a 54-hole Grand Slam (in '86), but 'only' won the Open. He's also the only man to lose all 4 majors in a playoff (Masters to Larry Mize, US Open to Fuzzy Zoeller, Open to Mark Calcavecchia and PGA to Azinger). Mize's chip-in and Bob Tway's bunker shot to win the PGA were also incredible "snatching victory" shots most players never experience.
For Norman, however, course management has always been his downfall, and it was again on Sunday. So while Norman was Tiger before Tiger, unfortunately he was Phil before Phil. And still is.
Regards,
Steve
As Tom Rinaldi of ABC correctly said during last week's British Open, Greg Norman was Tiger before Tiger. He had the charisma and talent Tiger has. He's still arguably the longest straight hitter ever. And he captured the imagination.
Last week he was all of the above, leading the Open after 63 holes, and eventually finishing tied for 3rd.
To say this was a shock is an understatement. Norman probably wouldn't have played if not for his new bride, Chris Evert. In the past he was just there as a former Open champion. As Paul Azinger correctly said, you would've picked 100 guys in the field to win before the 53-year-old.
While Norman had a Hall of Fame career, he also holds some dubious records. He's the only one to achieve a 54-hole Grand Slam (in '86), but 'only' won the Open. He's also the only man to lose all 4 majors in a playoff (Masters to Larry Mize, US Open to Fuzzy Zoeller, Open to Mark Calcavecchia and PGA to Azinger). Mize's chip-in and Bob Tway's bunker shot to win the PGA were also incredible "snatching victory" shots most players never experience.
For Norman, however, course management has always been his downfall, and it was again on Sunday. So while Norman was Tiger before Tiger, unfortunately he was Phil before Phil. And still is.
Regards,
Steve
posted by Irrelevant at 4:23 AM
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