ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 12, 1996 TAG: 9604120065
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: AUGUSTA, GA.
SOURCE: Associated Press
Greg Norman, more than anyone, knows that golf's major championships aren't won on Thursday.
More than anyone, the man who has finished second in a major eight times knows how much work he has ahead of him.
But perhaps more than anyone, Greg Norman wants to win the 60th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.
``Those two guys have something I want,'' Norman said Wednesday night at a dinner where he was honored, looking at Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw and speaking about the green Masters jackets they've won. ``And I'm going to go get it.''
He took a dramatic step in that direction in the first round, shooting a 9-under-par 63, two strokes better than Phil Mickelson and four better than Bob Tway and Scott Hoch.
For all the times Norman's greatness had been denied in a major championship, especially at Augusta where he has finished in the top six seven times but never won, golf's greatest money winner was for one day golf's greatest player.
Norman's round, only the fourth 9-under-par round in the history of all the majors, was an overwhelming effort on a lightning-fast course.
It started normally enough with six consecutive pars. Then the awesome talent that has astounded, baffled, amazed and confused a generation of golf fans kicked in.
Closing with nine birdies in the last 12 holes, Norman tied the major championship record with his 63.
``When you get into that type of roll like I got into today you just decide to let the reins loose and let the horse run,'' Norman said.
He rolled in birdie putts of 10 feet, 10 feet and 14 feet to close the front nine in 33. After pars on Nos.10 and 11 - a bunker save on 10 that he almost holed - Norman birdied Nos.12-15, making two-putt birdies on both the par 5s.
He tied the course record set in 1986 by Nick Price with a 10-foot birdie putt on No.17 and a 24-footer on the final hole to close the back nine in 30.
``This was one of my handful of great rounds,'' Norman said.
Norman, whose only major titles are two British Opens, on this day punished Augusta National Golf Club for every time it has caused him a Masters heartbreak.
It was a crushing performance that made a great round by Mickelson look almost ordinary. The 65 by the 25-year-old left-hander looking for his first major championship was posted as Norman was finishing the front nine.
It was a savvy round that showed how much he has learned about the course.
``The really difficult thing about this tournament, this golf course and these greens,'' Mickelson said, ``is we don't really see anything like it ever, except this one week of the year.''
As always on Augusta, position was the key.
``I had a lot of putts from underneath the hole on the back nine and was able to go at them,'' Mickelson said. ``I don't think I've ever seen [the greens] this fast, but they gave us pin placements we could go at.''
The back nine, with its two par-5s reachable in two shots, was the easier nine. The 30s by Norman and Mickelson were just a stroke off the record 29 shot by Mark Calcavecchia in the final round of 1992.
Tway shot a 31 on the back and Hoch a 32 as they both finished at 67. Lee Janzen, alone in fifth place at 68, had a 33 on the back side.
Crenshaw, the defending champion, shot a 77, and six-time winner Jack Nicklaus had a 70.
Mickelson has gotten better every year at the Masters, finishing 46th, 34th and then seventh last year, when his 66 led after the first round.
``I've had pretty much an experience on every hole that has hurt me,'' said Mickelson, who was in contention last year until he double bogeyed No.6 on the final round. But from every mistake he has gleaned knowledge.
``I've learned not to fire at every pin,'' he said. ``I've been trying to play a little smarter on some pins.
He also has learned some shots needed at Augusta.
On No.2 he lobbed an 89-yard sand wedge to 12 feet from the hole, landing it lightly with no spin.
``I didn't have that shot last year,'' he said.
The importance of being able to hit the ball without spin at Augusta was shown on No.9 when Tiger Woods, the 20-year-old Stanford sophomore who shot a 75, hit a sand wedge that landed 15 feet short of the flag. The ball took one bounce then slid down the slope and settled 20 yards off the green, resulting in a bogey.
On No.17, the spin shot was the right one to hit and Mickelson used it, landing his 107-yard sand wedge 25 feet past the hole and drawing it back to eight feet below the cup, leaving an easy uphill birdie putt.
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Greg Norman watches his drive on the 15th holeby CNBduring the opening round of the Masters on Thursday. Graphic:
Chart.