‘Screw you, Tiger! I’m going past.”
No, not the comments of a former caddy but the observation of double Major winning, Greg Norman in describing the most defining moment he’s seen in golf in the past six to eight years.
Presidents Cup Captain, Greg Norman greets Ryder Cup Captain, Jose Maria Olazabal on the Atlanta practice range. (Photo - Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)
In a golf world long dominated by Tiger Wood, Norman singled out the sight last April of likes of the twenty-something’s Charl Schwartzel, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy fighting for glory at Augusta National as the moment of the changing of the guard.
The moment Woods no longer reigned supreme.
During Norman’s long and illustrious career he had been on the receiving end of some of the most outrageous shots, and extraordinary last round displays, that stripped him of further Major Championship glory.
Norman may have only captured just two Open Championship’s but the Great White Shark was unchallenged atop of the world rankings for 331 weeks but since retiring full time from a full playing schedule in 2002, it’s been Woods who’s taken over at the game’s dominant player.
It wasn’t till Sunday, April 10 earlier this year that Norman saw a movement in the goal posts.
“Of all the golf I have watched this year, the last nine holes of the Masters was probably the testament that nobody is intimidated by Tiger Woods anymore,” said Norman.
Greg Norman profile. (Photo - Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)
“When Tiger normally hits the lead he keeps going away.
“He played great the front nine but he couldn’t do it on the back, and of all places, at Augusta National where you would think he could limp around that tournament.
“But he couldn’t.
“There are a lot of young kids here this week who were at Augusta and they’re no doubt thinking ‘Screw you, Tiger! I am going by you and blew Tiger away’.
“Then all of a sudden Tiger tried force the issue. His stroke wasn’t as good as it was on the front nine, and all of a sudden the dynamics changed.
“That’s where golf changed right there on that Sunday.
“Louis Oosthuizen set it up winning The Open and Charl Schwartzel took advantage of it, and that was the defining moment in golf over the last five, six or seven years of golf, in my mind.”
And with Woods is such dominant mood for more than a decade, Norman expressed sympathy for the likes of Colin Montgomerie and Ernie Els, in having to cope with a ramgaging Tiger.
“The kids out there playing now didn’t have to deal with Tiger’s dominance,” said Norman.
“That’s why I feel sorry for guys who went through that tough time, and they’re guys like Ernie Els, Monty and even Phil Mickelson. Take Tiger out of the picture and they probably would now have one or two or more Majors under their belts.
“There’s Ernie in 2000. Three times second in the Majors (Masters, U.S. Open and British Open).”
