Poe: Another near miss for the Shark, but this was different
By Barry Poe Journal sports writer | Posted: Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Although it's provided him with fame and riches beyond his wildest dreams, golf certainly hasn't been kind to Greg Norman.
We all remember his two British Open victories, in 1986 at Turnberry and at Royal St. George's in 1993. However, "The Shark" is best known for his heartbreaking runner-up finishes in majors.
Let's review:
Norman lost in a playoff to Fuzzy Zoeller in the 1984 U.S. Open. Remember the shot on television of Norman waving the white towel and then using it to wipe Fuzzy's brow?
Paul Azinger, the captain of the 2008 United States Ryder Cup team, beat Norman in a playoff at the 1985 PGA Championship.
Norman led all four majors on Sunday in 1986, but won only the British Open. A guy named Nicklaus put together a Sunday to remember at the Masters. Raymond Floyd passed Norman to capture the U.S. Open title and Bob Tway chipped in from a bunker to shock "The Shark" in the PGA Championship.
In 1987, Norman and Larry Mize had a two-hole playoff at The Masters. Mize, if you recall, made a miracle chip shot on No. 11, the second playoff hole, to win. That's another one of those highlight reels you see all of the time on television.
The most painful Masters memory for Norman, however, came in 1996 when he took a six-stroke lead into the final round, only to crumble under pressure and yield to Nick Faldo, who slipped on his third green jacket.
For all of those reasons and many more, it was tough to see Norman slip out of contention on Sunday in the final round of the British Open. You almost expected it to happen, since he's become more of a part-time player these days.
Still, when the blonde Aussie with the powerful swing (his club speed was measured at 110 miles-per-hour, pretty good for a 53-year-old) went into Sunday with a two-shot lead, it was hard not to root for him.
Nothing against Padraig Harrington, who repeated as champion, but somehow I think if Norman would have won it would have made a bigger story that the Irishman becoming just the fifth player in the last 40-plus years to win two in a row.
With his new wife Chrissie following his every shot, "The Shark" captured the attention of the golfing world for four straight days. I'd be willing to wager that nearly everyone, with the exception of the country of Ireland, was pulling for Norman to pull it out.
But, when it was all said and done, Harrington made the shots when he had to and Norman played the familiar role of bridesmaid. He did, in fact, tie for third with Denmark's Henrik Stenson, also finishing behind Ian Poulter, a local hero from England.
Despite the fact that he came up short again, this shouldn't be considered a collapse of any sort. The mere thought of a 53-year-old who was just using this tournament as a tuneup for next week's Senior British Open being in contention for a major championship was truly remarkable.
Not only was Norman in contention, he led by a stroke heading to the 10th hole. The chances of this happening again, I'd say, are very slim.
That's why, when we sit back and analyze this, it could go down in history as one of the most compelling stories in the history of golf.
With the first Dakota Dunes Super Amateur fast approaching (Sept. 20-21), the final chance for players to earn spots is the Men's City Championship, set for Aug. 16-17 at Green Valley.
City tournament participants who make the cut for the final nine holes make the Dunes field, providing they register and pay the $189 entry fee, which includes two rounds of tournament golf, a cart, a raffle for a free Dakota Dunes membership, all prizes and an awards dinner.
After the City tournament, any available spots will be taken on a first come basis. Official entry forms will be accepted until Aug. 21 through the deadline of Sept. 16 at 5 p.m.
So far, the following players (not including Dunes members in good standing) have qualified for the Super Amateur. The field will be comprised of championship qualifiers from the Tri-State Masters and River-Cade, the top one-third of the field in the Interstate Amateur and the aforementioned city tournament finalists:
Ayron Corporon, Jim Anderson, Bret Taylor, Pat Schiltz, Adam Fields, Pat O'Brien, Bill Mathers, Todd Sapp, Nick Dreckman, Brian Schultz, Dale Erwin, Brian Barto, Mike Kelley, Jared Kvidera, Mark Brown, Cam Jacobs, Vern Van Peursem, David Young, Todd DeWeerd, Jeff Donaldson, Jesse Lewter, Brad Newton, Jake Sitzmann, J.R. Trembly, Larry Franzen, John Peterson, Sam Prue, Dan Tjaden, Kelly Schmidt, Ben Edwards, Tom Yaneff.
J.D. Anderson, Troy Arends, Brad Van Roekel, Al Pottebaum, Nate Barbee, Tyson Bodlak, Dan Freed, David Avery, Josh Wendling, Bob Brummel, Bob Boote, Chad Edwards.
Chris Rager, Mark Hilts, Brian Evans, Jim Tritz, Billy Keane, Steve Petersen, Mark Albert, Don Droke, M.L. Petersen, Adam Lloyd, Scott Knowles, Jamie Marksbury, Emery Moody, Collin Breyfogle, Mike Moody, Mike Neswick, Paul Bartlett, Dan Bernholtz.
Jay Wright, the assistant athletic director at Bishop Heelan High School, is $5,000 richer thanks to a hole-in-one during the St. Luke's Sports Medicine tournament at Whispering Creek Golf Club on Monday.
Wright used a 7-iron to ace the 160-yard second hole, which happened to be sponsored by State Farm Insurance. Wright, a former assistant men's basketball coach at Briar Cliff University, was playing with Jason Pratt, Tom Betz and Dave Newbrough.
Rumor has it, since they couldn't see the ball go into the hole, the group searched for a while before determining that it had nestled in the cup.
On a sad note, our condolences go out to the family of Nick Huber, who served as sports information director at Buena Vista University (my alma-mater) from 2004-07.
Nick passed away last Saturday at the age of 28 after a courageous five-year battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. Huber was a 2002 graduate of Luther College and also attended graduate school at Gustavus Adolphus.
His tireless efforts, despite fighting this dreadful disease, didn't go unnoticed by members of The Sioux City Journal sports department.
On Sunday, Iowa Governor Chet Culver issued the following statement on Sunday:
"I wish to extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Nick Huber after he lost his courageous battle against Lou Gehrig's disease yesterday at the age of 28. Nick was a well respected and much loved member of the Buena Vista University family, and all Iowans join in grieving his loss at such an early age. Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones during this difficult time."
Journal sports writer Barry Poe can be reached at (712) 293-4205, or e-mail barrypoe@siouxcityjournal.com.
We all remember his two British Open victories, in 1986 at Turnberry and at Royal St. George's in 1993. However, "The Shark" is best known for his heartbreaking runner-up finishes in majors.
Let's review:
Norman lost in a playoff to Fuzzy Zoeller in the 1984 U.S. Open. Remember the shot on television of Norman waving the white towel and then using it to wipe Fuzzy's brow?
Paul Azinger, the captain of the 2008 United States Ryder Cup team, beat Norman in a playoff at the 1985 PGA Championship.
Norman led all four majors on Sunday in 1986, but won only the British Open. A guy named Nicklaus put together a Sunday to remember at the Masters. Raymond Floyd passed Norman to capture the U.S. Open title and Bob Tway chipped in from a bunker to shock "The Shark" in the PGA Championship.
In 1987, Norman and Larry Mize had a two-hole playoff at The Masters. Mize, if you recall, made a miracle chip shot on No. 11, the second playoff hole, to win. That's another one of those highlight reels you see all of the time on television.
The most painful Masters memory for Norman, however, came in 1996 when he took a six-stroke lead into the final round, only to crumble under pressure and yield to Nick Faldo, who slipped on his third green jacket.
For all of those reasons and many more, it was tough to see Norman slip out of contention on Sunday in the final round of the British Open. You almost expected it to happen, since he's become more of a part-time player these days.
Still, when the blonde Aussie with the powerful swing (his club speed was measured at 110 miles-per-hour, pretty good for a 53-year-old) went into Sunday with a two-shot lead, it was hard not to root for him.
Nothing against Padraig Harrington, who repeated as champion, but somehow I think if Norman would have won it would have made a bigger story that the Irishman becoming just the fifth player in the last 40-plus years to win two in a row.
With his new wife Chrissie following his every shot, "The Shark" captured the attention of the golfing world for four straight days. I'd be willing to wager that nearly everyone, with the exception of the country of Ireland, was pulling for Norman to pull it out.
But, when it was all said and done, Harrington made the shots when he had to and Norman played the familiar role of bridesmaid. He did, in fact, tie for third with Denmark's Henrik Stenson, also finishing behind Ian Poulter, a local hero from England.
Despite the fact that he came up short again, this shouldn't be considered a collapse of any sort. The mere thought of a 53-year-old who was just using this tournament as a tuneup for next week's Senior British Open being in contention for a major championship was truly remarkable.
Not only was Norman in contention, he led by a stroke heading to the 10th hole. The chances of this happening again, I'd say, are very slim.
That's why, when we sit back and analyze this, it could go down in history as one of the most compelling stories in the history of golf.
With the first Dakota Dunes Super Amateur fast approaching (Sept. 20-21), the final chance for players to earn spots is the Men's City Championship, set for Aug. 16-17 at Green Valley.
City tournament participants who make the cut for the final nine holes make the Dunes field, providing they register and pay the $189 entry fee, which includes two rounds of tournament golf, a cart, a raffle for a free Dakota Dunes membership, all prizes and an awards dinner.
After the City tournament, any available spots will be taken on a first come basis. Official entry forms will be accepted until Aug. 21 through the deadline of Sept. 16 at 5 p.m.
So far, the following players (not including Dunes members in good standing) have qualified for the Super Amateur. The field will be comprised of championship qualifiers from the Tri-State Masters and River-Cade, the top one-third of the field in the Interstate Amateur and the aforementioned city tournament finalists:
Ayron Corporon, Jim Anderson, Bret Taylor, Pat Schiltz, Adam Fields, Pat O'Brien, Bill Mathers, Todd Sapp, Nick Dreckman, Brian Schultz, Dale Erwin, Brian Barto, Mike Kelley, Jared Kvidera, Mark Brown, Cam Jacobs, Vern Van Peursem, David Young, Todd DeWeerd, Jeff Donaldson, Jesse Lewter, Brad Newton, Jake Sitzmann, J.R. Trembly, Larry Franzen, John Peterson, Sam Prue, Dan Tjaden, Kelly Schmidt, Ben Edwards, Tom Yaneff.
J.D. Anderson, Troy Arends, Brad Van Roekel, Al Pottebaum, Nate Barbee, Tyson Bodlak, Dan Freed, David Avery, Josh Wendling, Bob Brummel, Bob Boote, Chad Edwards.
Chris Rager, Mark Hilts, Brian Evans, Jim Tritz, Billy Keane, Steve Petersen, Mark Albert, Don Droke, M.L. Petersen, Adam Lloyd, Scott Knowles, Jamie Marksbury, Emery Moody, Collin Breyfogle, Mike Moody, Mike Neswick, Paul Bartlett, Dan Bernholtz.
Jay Wright, the assistant athletic director at Bishop Heelan High School, is $5,000 richer thanks to a hole-in-one during the St. Luke's Sports Medicine tournament at Whispering Creek Golf Club on Monday.
Wright used a 7-iron to ace the 160-yard second hole, which happened to be sponsored by State Farm Insurance. Wright, a former assistant men's basketball coach at Briar Cliff University, was playing with Jason Pratt, Tom Betz and Dave Newbrough.
Rumor has it, since they couldn't see the ball go into the hole, the group searched for a while before determining that it had nestled in the cup.
On a sad note, our condolences go out to the family of Nick Huber, who served as sports information director at Buena Vista University (my alma-mater) from 2004-07.
Nick passed away last Saturday at the age of 28 after a courageous five-year battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. Huber was a 2002 graduate of Luther College and also attended graduate school at Gustavus Adolphus.
His tireless efforts, despite fighting this dreadful disease, didn't go unnoticed by members of The Sioux City Journal sports department.
On Sunday, Iowa Governor Chet Culver issued the following statement on Sunday:
"I wish to extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Nick Huber after he lost his courageous battle against Lou Gehrig's disease yesterday at the age of 28. Nick was a well respected and much loved member of the Buena Vista University family, and all Iowans join in grieving his loss at such an early age. Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones during this difficult time."
Journal sports writer Barry Poe can be reached at (712) 293-4205, or e-mail barrypoe@siouxcityjournal.com.
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