The Cinderella story continues as Greg Norman leads the British by two going into the final round

Saturday, July 19, 2008 6:29 pm (Eastern)

By Sal Johnson

The question on everyone's minds is if the Shark will be able to bring the Claret Jug home for his new bride or will he again suffer the jaws of defeat in a major.

Photo: © Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images Greg Norman and his new bride Chris Evert seem like a couple of high school kids experiencing first love.

It would be fair to say that coming to Royal Birkdale this week not one scribe, not one official, not one fan thought that we could possibly have a story that rivaled Torrey Pines. Even if Greg Norman wins, Tiger Woods winning the U.S. Open with a broken leg will be the best but a Norman win will be second best of the year and probably second best of the last couple of decades.

For years Norman was the best player in the world that just couldn't seem to win majors. Yes he won the 1986 and '93 British Open's but look at this chart on Golfstats. It shows that this is the 8th time that Norman has had the lead or a share of the lead going into the final round of a major. But the hard core facts of this is that only once has he won. It is well documented how many times he has blown a major championship. Just look at this chart on Golfstats, which is the times that he has gone into the final round either with the lead, a share of the lead or within five of the lead. This shows the true meaning of the number of majors that Norman could of won, yes 23 times he had chances at winning and only won twice, that is heartbreak city right there.

A look at best finishes in major championships of players in their 50s
Player	Finish/Major	Age
Harry Vardon	T2nd in 1920 U.S. Open	50 years, 3 months, 4 days
Sam Snead	T3rd in 1963 Masters	50 years, 10 months, 11 days
Tommy Bolt	3rd in 1971 PGA Championship	54 years, 10 months, 28 days
Sam Snead	T3rd in 1974 PGA Championship	62 years, 2 months, 15 days
Sam Snead	T4th in 1972 PGA Championship	60 years, 2 months, 10 days
Tom Kite	T5th in 2001 U.S. Open	51 years, 6 months, 9 days
Sam Snead	T6th in 1962 British Open	50 years, 1 month, 17 days
Sam Snead	T6th in 1965 PGA Championship	53 years, 2 months, 19 days
Sam Snead	T6th in 1966 PGA Championship	54 years, 1 month, 20 days
Jack Nicklaus	6th in 1990 Masters	50 years, 2 months, 18 days
Jack Nicklaus	T6th in 1998 Masters	58 years, 2 months, 22 days
Julius Boros	T7th in 1973 U.S. Open	53 years, 3 months, 14 days
Harry Vardon	T8th in 1922 British Open	52 years, 1 months, 14 days
Gene Sarazen	T9th in 1956 PGA Championship	54 years, 4 months, 28 days
Ben Hogan	T9th in 1964 Masters	51 years, 7 months, 30 days
Ben Hogan	T9th in 1964 PGA Championship	51 years, 11 months, 6 days
Tom Watson	T9th in 2000 PGA Championship	50 years, 11 months, 16 days
Jay Haas	T9th in 2004 U.S. Open	50 years, 6 months, 18 days

So what does all of this prove, that he can't win on Sunday at Royal Birkdale? I believe that the 24th time will be the charm, that Norman will walk away at the age of 53 with the British Open title for the third time. So why will this happen, his competitive juices and not against the field but against his new wife Chris Evert. You see Evert has won 18 times in majors and you just have to think that during some bed-time conversation she has mention that she has 18 wins over his 2. Matter of fact Evert won her 18 before Norman won his in 1986. Now Norman is never going to catch Evert but he can turn the tables and say that he is the last one in the family to win a major.

What is fun this week is not watching Greg but watching Chris Evert watch Greg. She may be 53 in age but she is acting like a teenager back in high school watching her boyfriend that is the star quarterback. She is giddy when he makes great shots and looks to suffer when he has problems. But in the long run she is having a great time in her new career being Mrs. Greg Norman. In reverse I think that the same is true for Norman, he is enjoying making Evert happy by playing well and would love to bring home the title on Sunday night, like a conqueror making a big conquest of some country. In a way this is the ultimate competition, Norman may of lost the Masters in 1996 to Nick Faldo but the pain of that won't be as bad as not taking home the Claret Jug to Chris on Sunday night.

Now what would a Norman victory do for golf on Sunday? It will make us forget for a bit that Tiger Woods wasn't here, for the folks at ABC Sports, sorry ESPN, it will give them a very pleasant surprise when they read the ratings on Monday morning. But most of all it will be the first truly great, non-Tiger story since Norman blew the Masters 12 years ago.

Greg Norman stats for the day & week
Category	Saturday	Week (rank)
Fairways hit:	3 of 14	16 of 42 (T77th)
Driving average:	305.5	288.8 (T47th)
Greens hit:	11 of 18	32 of 54 (T7th)
Putts:	31	86 (T8th)
0-putt greens:	0	0
1-putt greens:	5	22
2-putt greens:	13	32
3-putt greens:	0	0

So I repeat the question, can Norman win on Sunday, I bet you that I have converted you all over. If you aren't converted yet and feel that Norman will stick the sword into him another time, just think of these words that he uttered in a press interview after his round, on how he is more at ease during a round and that despite having any high expectations he knows that he has the experience to win. Yes Norman may be 53 years old but his body is as trim and fit as a lot of athletes in their 20s so that won't be a problem. Yes he hasn't played much tournament golf of late but as Jack Nicklaus said on Friday, if Norman gets into position to win he will remember how to win or how to close. Yes experience is great.

Now here is some oddities that we have to consider, since we don't see 53 year old men going into a final round of a major with the lead. Just once has this happened in the majors, that was in 1973 when Julius Boros had the 54 hole lead at the U.S. Open at about the same age as Norman, 53. If Norman would win he would be the oldest major champion at the age of 53 years, 5 months and 11 days, topping 1968 PGA Championship winner Julius Boros (48 years, 4 months and 18 days). The oldest winner of the Open Championship was Tom Morris Sr., who was 46 years, 3 months and 9 days old when he won in 1867. Norman would be the 20th player in British Open history to win at least three times, joining Jamie Anderson, Seve Ballesteros, Henry Cotton, Nick Faldo, Bob Ferguson, Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods as a three time winner.

But I still think more importunely at the end of the day what may be the most important thing for Norman is to be able to bring home the Jug for Chris and show his new bride that he isn't just a "has-been" but is a pretty good golfing stud that can still win the prize for his gal, in a way that will be more important than anything else.


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