Greg Norman found pins in places he had never seen before at Augusta National. His golf ball ended up in places it had never been.
Puzzled by treacherous placements and victimized by sloppy iron play, the golf machine who conquered the TPC only two weeks ago became suddenly human. But between the troubles there were enough flashes of brilliance to leave Norman just two shots off the lead entering today's second round of the Masters."I felt like I was a 20-handicap compared to the way I played TPC," Norman said after an opening round, 2-under-par 70 Thursday. "I'm not used to making all these bogeys. But there's no question about it, I got the job done."
Indeed he did, with a hard-fought effort that left Norman tied with five other golfers. He is two shots behind Larry Mize in pursuit of the Masters title he so desperately wants, the one many made him an odds-on favorite to win.
"It was probably the worst first or second round I've played, yet I walked out of here with a 70," Norman said. "Sometimes you play good, sometimes you scramble."
Norman, who made only one bogey in his 24-under romp through the TPC, made six in his first round, against only five pars. Two of the bogeys could have been doubles, save for some clutch putting.
In swirling afternoon winds, though, Norman enjoyed the good with the bad. That included an eagle on No. 13 and three straight birdies on the front nine - the same stretch of holes that had so vexed him in the first round of recent Masters.
This, despite some pin placements Norman said were unlike any he had seen in 13 years at the tournament.
"It was extremely testing where they put the pins. . . . Maybe six or seven of them were in places they had never been."
Norman, who shot himself out of contention in the first round of six of his last seven Masters, mixed some exceptional shotmaking with an occasional miserable iron shot on his roller-coaster ride around Augusta National.
He put shots within a few feet of the pin on Nos. 5 and 7, part of his three-birdie string, and hit a 2-iron to 12 feet for eagle on No. 13. But he pulled a second shot badly into the trees on No. 10 and misfired on two relatively easy back-nine iron shots to make bogeys.
Beginning with a 5-foot putt he needed to avoid double bogey on No. 4, he also had to make critical chips or sink tough putts to escape potential disaster on the 10th and 15th.
On the 10th, Norman caused his own woes by pulling a mud-splattered ball 60 yards left on the hole into the trees. On 15, Augusta National showed how unforgiving it can be when a 4-iron by Norman actually landed on the edge of the green, before beginning an agonizingly slow roll back into the water.
"This is what a major championship is all about. They're going to test you," Norman said. "They did today and I'm sure they will the next three days. I'm sure it's going to get tougher."