The illustrious career of Greg Norman, along with his appearance and aggressive game style earned him the moniker of ‘The Great White Shark.’ His career had some great wins with a record of 88 professional wins, including 20 at the PGA Tour and 2 Open Championships in 1986 and 1993. However, despite the wins, there are some plagued memories that he would want to erase.
A career Grand Slam and the green jacket are the achievements that the golfer did not achieve. While he has been close to achieving it, the unfortunate losses have been a lifelong wound for him. Out of all the losses, there are five close misses which are still looked up to as the most miserable ones of the professional. Let’s take a look at them in more detail.
1984 US Open
The Shark, after winning his first at the PGA Tour, was eager to win his first major too in the same year of 1984. The 84th edition of the U.S. Open was held at the Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. The tournament didn’t have the ideal start for him as, after the first round, Norman was placed far from the top 5 standings with his 70 finish. Later, in the second round, with a 68 score round, he was tied for third and that’s when the hopes started to kick in.
Who knows the year of this US Open #TBT moment? pic.twitter.com/ngdDB2hcer
— Greg Norman (@SharkGregNorman) June 13, 2019
Even in the following rounds, he maintained his spot with a 69-stroke finish in third. He then jumped to the top spot with Fuzzy Zoeller with another 69 finish. After the final round 18th hole, the scores were tied at 276, which led the game to playoffs. Norman, with high hopes and a strong comeback after the first round, seemed confident, but after the second hole of the playoff, the lead shifted to Zoeller’s side. The three-stroke lead after the 2nd hole was turned into a 9 lead by the end of playoffs to hand over a “hard-to-forget loss” for The Shark.
1986 Masters
Next was another horrifying loss for the Australian as after three rounds he was leading, but a double bogey on the 10th hole changed the entire leaderboard. Norman, in the 50th edition of the Masters, started with 70 in the first round to secure the T5 position. In the second and third rounds, he recorded 72 and 68 to finish at the top of the leaderboard.
Everything was going as planned for the Australian until the mishap happened at the 10th hole. He shot a double bogey and lost the lead by 1 stroke over Jack Nicklaus and Tom Kite. Besides the hard try till the 16th, Nicklaus extended the lead with an eagle putt. At the end of the playoffs, losing with a stroke difference, Norman was placed at T2 with Tom Kite. Nicklaus that year won and became the oldest winner of the Masters. A stroke mis-shot snatched the victory away from Norman.
1989 British Open
Before the British Open in 1989, Norman had already lost an opportunity to a playoff after a miserable putt in the 72nd hole of the Masters. To forget the loss and attain victory, he started off decently with the first round of 69. However, the second and third rounds made it tough for the golfer as he was placed below 9th position with his 70 and 72 in the second and third rounds.
While making a strong comeback in the final round, he was tied at the first after his 64 in the fourth round. He was positioned first with Mark Calcavecchia and Wayne Grady, another playoff. For the first two strokes, Norman showed a strong sign of victory and so did Calcavecchia. However, the loss of the hole in the fourth declared the winner and handed over another harsh loss for the Australian. He finished T2.
1993 US PGA Championship
After the British Open loss in 1989, Norman sealed his second major win in the 1993 British Open. A promising form that could have led him to the third major of his career and second of that season with the US PGA Championship, but the unfortunate last shot made it an unforgettable history for the professional. After three rounds of 68-68-67, The Shark was leading with under par 10. However, Paul Aziner, who was one stroke behind, shot one stroke less in the final round to level the score. Azinger shot 68, while Norman shot 69.
The match was again pushed to the playoff, which has already been a tough one for the Australian as he had tough encounters earlier. Even this time too, a similar feat repeated after a par shot on the first hole, at the second, Norman couldn’t save the par and was left to take the runner-up position with $155,000.
1995 US Open
In 1995, Noman was already third placed at the Masters. With the US Open, he wanted to change that. With that aim, he started strong as after two rounds of 68-67, he was at the top of the leaderboard. While in the third, Tom Lehman joined in to share the top spot after his 74 strokes round.
After two great rounds, the third one ruined the lead for him. With the hope of covering in the last. Corey Pavin made sure to not let that happen as he recorded the best with 68. Norman and Lehman, who were leading, recorded 73 and 74 respectively to hand over the great championship to Pavin.
The great career of the golfer has had some hard pills to swallow. These five are the closest losses for the 20-time PGA Tour winner as he was leading at some point in the event. Which, according to you, is the most heartbreaking? Share with us in the comments section below.
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