Greg Norman does not watch much golf on television, or at least did not until recently. That’s when he was hired by Fox as lead analyst for its United States Open coverage, and the Shark suddenly found himself watching tournaments, turning the sound down and imagining what he would say in certain situations.
“I’ve always told the truth,’’ he said in a wide-ranging interview this week for Golf.com on the eve of the Open at Chambers Bay, where Fox replaces NBC as the host broadcaster. “Being honest protects you, not only from the slings of others, but also from yourself. Everything I’ve ever said I felt was right, so I have no regrets. Expect the same when I’m in the broadcast booth—I’ll call it as I see it. The only thing I have to protect is the sanctity of the U.S. Open. I won’t care if I ruffle feathers, as long as it’s true.”
In the interview, Norman speaks his mind on various subjects.
For instance, on growing the game. “This one’s simple: Introduce the game to at least one person you know, whether it’s a child, a co-worker or a spouse. That’s a grass-roots movement. I thank my mother (Toini) for getting me into golf. I was 16, and my family had just moved from a town in Queensland to Brisbane. I hadn’t made any new friends yet, and I was a little lonely.
“My mother played golf, and one day she asked me to caddie for her. Now, Mom was only 5’3” and 100 pounds soaking wet, but she was a three-handicap and could play! I played four holes with her clubs while she had tea in the clubhouse following her round. I was hooked. Within a few weeks I established a proud handicap of 27. A year and a half later, I was scratch.’’
Norman says his infamous meltdown in the 1996 Masters, when Nick Faldo reeled him in from a six-shot lead on the final day, was not as painful as 1986, when Jack Nicklaus beat him. The Shark came up the 18th needing a par for a playoff, but flared his approach right of the green and took bogey. “I’ve suffered some bad breaks in majors, but that one’s on me.’’
This was during a period when Larry Mize chipped in during a playoff to deny him another Masters, and Bob Tway holed out from a bunker to beat him in the United States PGA Championship. It’s just life, says Norman. “For a while, I thought, ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ I mean, I wasn’t coming up short in these situations; I was either tied or in the lead. I now realise that they had nothing to do with me. They happened. Destiny plays a role in everything.’’
His views on the Tiger Woods dilemma have already been well-publicised. Norman sees Woods in an inevitable decline with no more major wins, a point he makes again. “He simply has too many distractions, and don’t underestimate the stress of his breakup with Lindsey Vonn. She seemed to be a stabilising influence for Tiger during their time together. It’s just another readjustment for Woods, and the readjustments are starting to pile up. It’ll be tough.’’
Woods is his neighbour at Hope Sound in Florida, but they don’t cross paths. “It’s well documented how he’s never reached out to me. That’s his prerogative, and I’m certainly not going to force my experiences on him, even though I know they could help. Everybody has the right to choose what to do with their life and how they want to live it. Unfortunately, the world is full of people who think they have it figured out, and most of them don’t.’’
Norman starts his new role at the US Open next week.