Faldo/Norman by Andy Farrell Read Free Book Online Page B

before the tournament, his great mentor Harvey Penick died and on the Wednesday of Masters week Crenshaw and Tom Kite, another of Harvey’s ‘special boys’, returned to Austin, Texas, to act as pallbearers at the funeral.
    Love, another player associated with Penick, had actually won the New Orleans tournament on the Sunday he died. This afforded him a last-minute invitation to the Masters and he continued his fine form to finish second – to Crenshaw, who dissolved into tears on the 18th green after completing a one-stroke victory. ‘Fate dictated this championship, as it does so many times,’ Crenshaw said. ‘Someone put their hand on my shoulder this week and guided me through. I had a 15th club in the bag today, and it was Harvey.’
    Norman finished three behind Crenshaw in third place but this was not a title he lost, as one report said, ‘it was kept from him’. He said at the time: ‘Maybe Harvey was up there looking down saying: “Hey, Ben, this one, I’m going to help you do that.” Augusta National has a way of sifting out whoever it wants to sift out. Somehow, you have to do something special, as Ben did.’
    Would the Australian finally do something special at Augusta? Would he ever win the Masters? That was the theme running through his lengthy pre-tournament press conference but the Shark was as gabby as ever. First up was a question about howhe felt about the Masters: great player, great tournament, ‘seems like a great mating’. ‘Well, I don’t know – it hasn’t happened yet but you’re right, it is the greatest championship around,’ Norman began. ‘Like I said, there’s no other golf tournament anywhere in the world that generates the type of feeling like here at Augusta National. Any golfer, no matter what his stats or position in the world, whether a budding amateur or a professional, we all want to win it. And the guys who have experienced it have known that great feeling winning this tournament gives them and they want to get it back. So everyone has their reason for wanting to win it.’
    Could he still win? ‘Sure. I don’t play golf if I don’t think I can win.’ Does he believe in karma? ‘There’s not a situation that I’ve been under where I haven’t been able to experience or pull something out of it. Whether you call that karma or whether you call that self-analysis of a situation, I don’t know. But I do believe certain things are meant to happen for you. Sometimes you don’t feel like you have a chance to win and, boom, something happens. You get your good breaks and your bad breaks. But I like to feel that things are meant for a reason.’
    Now aged 41, was his best golf still ahead of him, Norman was asked? ‘I believe my best golf is in my 40s. But I used to believe my best golf was in my 30s. I believe if you just keep yourself halfway fit, you learn so much as time goes by in this game. As I get older, I think my life gets better. I think that gives you greater peace of mind and comfort. I honestly think my best golf will be in my 40s. I really do. It just depends on how far you want to push yourself.’
    Is it possible to want something too much? ‘I don’t think so. I’d rather have that pressure being put on yourself than no pressure at all. That, to me, is a great stimulus. It’s just how you approach it within yourself.’
    With a bit more luck, a little less bad fortune, how many times did he think he could have won here? ‘I don’t think like that. I’ve had many good fortunes in my golfing life. So whether it’s sound advice or smart work on my behalf, I don’t think like that. My golfing skills have given me a lot to be thankful for on and off the course. My kids are happy and healthy. I’ve seen a lot of families who aren’t happy and healthy, so those type of things I feel blessed for and with. So what happens on the golf course – when you let one get away from you, it’s not going to make a bit of difference in your life at