Plenty of bite left in this Shark

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON played party pooper last year just when it seemed as if a 53-year-old honeymooner was about to bring the old claret jug back to Australia.

The Great White Shark, Greg Norman, rolled back the years especially through the opening three rounds when he scored 70, 70 and 72 to lead Harrington and KJ Choi by two strokes. Alas the tiring Shark lost his bite on the final day, and shot 77 against the Harrington’s 69.

Now he’s back again and very happy to be playing his 27th Open on the links where he captured the title for the first of two times in 1986. It was Norman’s golden era, and the 63 he shot in the second round remains the joint lowest returned in any of the major championships and remains a jewel in his memory.

“There are three rounds I remember very, very well, this one (the 63), the 64 at Royal St. Georges to win again in 1993 and the 62 I shot at Glen Abbey in the Canadian Open,” he glowed.

“Everybody still talks about what happened here. I drove the ball exceptionally well. That was one of my fortes in my heyday. I didn’t have a problem just pulling my driver out and playing the whole golf course aggressively. I manoeuvred the ball very well. I was getting it a long way down there, like 16, I only needed a sand wedge. In those days I was worried about spinning it back into the burn, instead of worrying about carrying the burn.”

And after all he achieved last year, there is nothing he would like more than to do something similar again this time round. But does he believe it could happen?

“I wish I could sit here and say yes or no,” he admitted.

“It’s not just the fact that I don’t feel good about myself or my game, it’s just that I don’t know. I’m already looking forward to St Andrews next year, before I even tee it up because I think St Andrews suits any player, especially with the new groove technology coming in next year.

“I think the younger generation have never experienced it and don’t have a clue what is going to happen to their game. They better start making the adjustment very early on before January comes here. When you go to a British Open style where you can’t spin the ball as much, the whole game of golf is different.”

Norman is back in this part of the world with his wife and former tennis great Chris Evert with whom he was honeymooning this time last year. He came here via Doonbeg, the links in Co Clare that he designed, and loves it here in Turnberry not just because it was the scene of such a great highlight in his life but as also because, as he put it, “the hotel is right on the hill”.

Over dinner this week, Greg, Chris and Tom Watson have been contrasting how the two men can still compete at 54 and 55 whereas her tennis days have long since passed.

But he insists that “she’s a great driver for me, she’ll say, ‘go and work out, don’t forget to practice, don’t forget to do this’. And she also knows that time is our enemy”.

Norman takes all that to heart and now he believes he’s ready for another big week on the west coast of Scotland.

“This links is one of the best we play,” he maintained. “And the setup between 1986 and now is very, very similar. The rough is extremely thick and heavy out there.

“The fairways are a little wider this year but obviously it is a lot longer. All in all, the golf course is in perfect condition. The greens are probably the best I’ve seen. I thought Royal Birkdale’s were good last year but these are more consistent.”

That being the case, it seemed a good bet that the magical 63 barrier would be broken over the next four days but Norman begged to differ.

“Frank Nobilo and I went over this and discovered that there are very few scores in the low to mid-60s on this golf course even in very accessible conditions,” he countered.

Norman doesn’t shirk from the age issue, accepting that “it is always a factor because you’re not as physically strong, your endurance is probably not as great as someone in their 20s or 30s. But at the same time you have the experience.

“Last year demonstrated that point. I used my experience under the adverse conditions very well, even though I hadn’t played or practiced much. You draw on the experience, knowing where to go and where not to go.”