Hewitt giving Norman a hand

Greg Norman and Lleyton Hewitt take centre stage on Thursday for the first round of the Australian PGA Championship.

The former world number one golfer will have Hewitt carrying his bag around the Hyatt Regency Coolum links course, hoping that the tennis pro proves as adept to judging distances as he is to measuring bruising forehands.

Norman and Hewitt, who has already won grand slam titles at Wimbledon and the US Open, are in many ways an unlikely pairing.

Age-wise, Norman is old enough to be his new caddie’s father. Now 48, Norman is nearing the end of his golfing career, while Hewitt, at 22, has many years left of his tennis shelf life.

It is a move which is generating increased interest in the tournament, where the field is made up mostly of Australians, with several Americans and a scattering of Europeans making up the numbers.

Hewitt will be up for the challenge too, according to Norman.

“I know he can play so I’ve got to test him out. He’s looking forward to it,” said Norman.

“I think it is going to be good for both of us, a good buzz.

“At the end of the day, it is something I haven’t done before and something he hasn’t done and I think we will both enjoy it.

“Over the last year and a half, two years, we’ve been fortunate enough to play a bit of golf together.

“I’ve spoken to him on the phone a few times. I’m yet to go see him play tennis live. That is going to happen pretty soon.”

It will most likely happen during the Australian hardcourt season next month, when Hewitt steps up his challenge for the new tennis season, after a disappointing 2003 campaign in which he lost his number one ranking and tumbled to 16th in the Champions Race.

The disappointing run of results through this year have not left the Adelaide-based player skint, as Norman pointed out. Any prize-money which Norman wins will go to his usual caddie, Tony Navarro.

“If Lleyton Hewitt needs money, then he’s in a bad way,” said Norman. “Whatever percentage of prize money comes out of here, he’d be happy to let it go back to Tony.”

Despite Hewitt’s involvement, it would be surprising if Norman was to be among the top five finishers come Sunday.

He has cut back on his golfing commitments in recent years and rarely competes, devoting much of his time to business interests.

So it will be to the likes of Adam Scott and joint defending champions Jarrod Moseley and Peter Lonard that many will look to as likely winners.