Date: December 11, 2012
Author: Steve Orme at Coolum, Omnisport

Norman’s fountain of youth

Greg Norman is hoping to &aposdo a Peter Senior&apos at this week&aposs Australian PGA Championship but says helping out the next generation of Aussie golfers is what really makes him tick these days. At his Wednesday press conference, Norman paid tribute to 53-year-old Senior, who won last week&aposs Australian Open, declaring he is out to emulate his fellow veteran at the Palmer Coolum resort. But Norman, who will play with New South Wales young-gun Jake Higginbottom in the opening two rounds, will also take time to cast an eye over his playing partner&aposs game – and anyone else who asks this week. “I probably get more enjoyment out of that now than I do actually playing the game of golf,” Norman said when asked if he enjoys playing with and helping the new breed of Aussie golfers. “I have been asked by quite a few players, some big name players have asked me to help them. “It&aposs nice to have that recognition, obviously they want to elevate their game and sometimes they want to pick your mind about what was your practice routine, what were you focussing on, how did you set your schedule, all those things. “They are probably doing it the way they think they should do it but just one piece of information might help them unlock something that doesn&apost work for them and away they go. “I did the same thing with the Nicklaus and the Floyds of the world and the Watsons and the Trevino&aposs, so if a kid is going to ask me for my opinion I am going to give it.” Meanwhile, Norman concedes his own golf career now takes a back seat to his business commitments but said he is in the best physical condition of his life at age 57. “Physically I am in very good shape actually,” he said. “I play more tennis now than I do play golf, to tell you the truth. I have always been looking for another hobby outside of scuba diving and some of the hunting that I like to do in the mountains and tennis has been it, so I do play a lot. “From a pure physical standpoint I really have never felt better. “My workout routine is as good today as it was 25 years ago and I am still doing pretty much the same weights as what I was doing 25 years ago, so I am pretty much body wise I am happy where I am.” He predicted a score of around 15 under will be good enough to claim The Kirkwood Cup on Sunday afternoon. “There is a little bit more difficult wind here this year especially on the par-fives and there are five par-fives here, so if you play half-way decent you should birdie three of those five every day,” he said. “It&aposs not hard to see that 15 or 16 under will be the winning score but if the wind stays like this it will be a little bit more difficult.”