'Shark': Did the golfing gods really single out Greg Norman for misery?

A new ESPN documentary reassesses the career of the Australian, with particular attention paid to his famous meltdown at the 1996 Masters

COLLAPSE: Greg Norman after narrowly missing his chip shot on the 15th green during the final tound of the 1996 Masters at Augusta National. Pic: Stephen Munday, AllSport

IN recent years it’s become fashionable for sports documentaries to include a self-referential element in which the protagonist reviews footage of their own triumphs and disasters. The facial reactions in these segments often say more than hours of talking head analysis ever could: the vision of Michael Jordan, tablet in lap, choking up with laughter as Gary Payton’s account of the 1996 NBA finals series is played back to him remains the defining image of 2020’s The Last Dance. 

For Shark, which premiered in America on Tuesday night, directors Jason Hehir (who also directed The Last Dance) and Thomas Odelfelt replace the tablet with a laptop kept open on a small side table next to the seated Greg Norman.