By David Westin
Staff Writer
The Augusta Chronicle

Maybe the hard part is over for Greg Norman.

A notoriously slow starter in the Masters Tournament, the Great White Shark struck suddenly in Thursday's first round, tying the Augusta National course record with a 9-under-par 63.

Norman's good friend Nick Price, who shot 71 on Thursday, set the course record 10 years ago in the third round.

``I'll be able to reflect on this for many years to come,'' Norman said. ``When you come back here, you can think, `Boy, you shot 63.'''

The 41-year-old Norman, playing in his 16th Masters, failed to break par in seven of his previous nine appearances. Before Thursday, the only time he broke 70 in the first round came in his debut, in 1981, when he shot 69.

The No. 1-ranked player in the world, Norman leads lefty Phil Mickelson by two shots in the 60th Masters, which is down to 92 players. Peter Jacobsen withdrew minutes before his 9:21 a.m. starting time Thursday due to sore muscles on his left side.

The field will be pared to the low 44 and ties after today's second round. Golfers within 10 shots of the lead will also make the cut.

With a 67 or less today, Norman would break Raymond Floyd's 36-hole tournament scoring record of 13-under 131, set in 1976. If that happens, golfers would have to shoot 4-under-par 140 to make the cut under the 10-shot rule. Otherwise, that would leave just the top 44 and ties to play the weekend.

``You just try to keep the momentum going that's within you,'' said Norman, who has finished in the top six in the Masters seven times. ``You don't let it get away from you and get too excited about it. I'm happy and excited, but there's a long way to go.''

Norman, a two-time British Open champion but winless in majors in America, set a standard for major championships with the 63 Thursday.

No one has ever shot lower than 63 in any of the four majors and Norman is now the only golfer to do it in two of them. His other 63 came in the second round of the 1986 British Open at the Turnberry Golf Links in Scotland, which he went on to win. Counting Norman, 17 golfers have shot 63 in major championships.

Norman had nine birdies as he hit 16 greens in regulation and missed just two fairways. On the greens, Norman had 27 putts, nine below regulation. He had six one-putt greens, including a 24-footer for birdie on No. 18.

``It was just one of those things were I let it flow,'' said Norman, who had missed the cut in the two previous tournaments he'd played in this season. ``I started feeling my golf swing was getting back into good plane and good speed in my body this morning on the driving range.''

Norman could have shot 62 if his 18-foot eagle putt had dropped on the par-5 15th hole, as Norman thought it was going to.

``When I hit it, it went right over the pitch marker that I wanted,'' Norman said. ``That's why I straightened up. I was ready to go for a walk, but then all of a sudden it kind of just veered to the right.''

Mickelson, who at age 25 is 16 years younger than Norman, has won twice on the PGA Tour this season and is the second-leading money winner with more than $600,000. Norman has won once in just five starts and is fifth on the money list with $362,850, despite the two missed cuts.

Mickelson, playing in just his fourth Masters, had eight birdies against one bogey. He said a tip he received from defending champion Ben Crenshaw in Wednesday's practice round helped him shave a shot off his score. Crenshaw showed Mickelson how a deceptive putts breaks on the 15th green. It so happened Mickelson had a similar putt on Thursday.

``I'm glad I helped somebody today,'' Crenshaw said.

Giving chase to Norman and Mickelson are Scott Hoch and Bob Tway, who shot 67s. Lee Janzen shot 68 and David Gilford, Brad Faxon, Nick Faldo, Scott Simpson and Vijay Singh had 69s.

Former Masters champions Jack Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd head a group of seven players at 70. Among that number is Jay Haas, who is bidding to become the first golfer to win the annual Par-3 Contest and the Masters in the same year.

John Daly was working on a 69 coming to the last hole, but shot a double bogey and finished with a 71.

It was a good day for two players on the comeback trail. Two-time Masters champion Seve Ballesteros, fighting through a dreadful slump, shot a 73. D.A. Weibring, who is recovering from Bell's palsy and hadn't played a competitive round of golf since Jan. 7, shot a 74.

Four-time Masters champion Arnold Palmer, honored Tuesday with the unveiling of a 7-foot bronze statue in downtown Augusta, gave members of his Army hope that he'll make the cut for the first time in 13 years. The 66-year-old Palmer shot a 74.

A number of prominent players, including Crenshaw, are in danger of missing today's 36-hole cut. Crenshaw shot his highest round since 1985, a 77. Corey Pavin, the current U.S. Open champion, shot 75 and current PGA Championship winner Steve Elkington had 76.

The biggest shocker was the 78 by 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples, the winner of The Players Championship two weeks ago.

Other players in danger of missing the cut are amateur sensation Tiger Woods and Tom Lehman, who both shot 75s.