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Norman: His aura impressive
Last updated April 13 at 11 PM

By Mike Berardino
Staff Report
Augusta Chronicle

IMAGE:

Face it. You still don't believe Greg Norman is going to win the Masters Tournament. You've been waiting all week for him to fade, for those well-documented demons to knock him headlong off the leader board. You've been waiting for that one, crushing round of 75.


Greg Norman tees off the fourth green after bogeying the third hole.
By Steve Shelton/Augusta Chronicle

You've been waiting for the smile to disappear, the wheels to disengage, the golf balls to start flying hither and yon. You've been waiting for the latest episode in the longest-running serial in professional sports history: Calamity Greg.

Well, it's now Sunday morning and you're still waiting.

Three straight days Norman has made you look stoopid - with two O's. Three straight days he has dusted an elite international field of greats and near-greats.

Norman's lead is six shots entering today's final round.

SIX SHOTS!

Professional golfers don't blow six-shot leads, do they?

You're still not convinced. You're saying you've seen this show before. You're saying that if anyone on earth can blow a six-shot lead in the final round of the Masters, it's the Shark.

Well, we must admit, we kind of agree.

History tells us to be wary with this guy. History tells us bad things happen to this man. History tells us that Norman, for all of his wealth and looks and endorsement contracts and Q-rating points, was put on this earth for one purpose and one purpose only: to finish second in major golf tournaments.

Norman doesn't care much for history. Neither does Madam Belle, one of Augusta's veteran psychics.

Seeking an early line on just exactly how Norman is going to blow the tournament this time around, we called over to Madam Belle's offices on Peach Orchard Road early Saturday afternoon. We started in with some details about Norman's past, but she wasn't in the mood for history.

``I'm not into that background stuff,'' said Madam Belle, a practicing psychic for the past 35 years. ``Greg Norman is going to win this tournament. I just feel it. I just got through talking to my son about it.''

We teased her about this and wondered how many consecutive years she's had this feeling about Norman, the perennial Masters favorite. Madam Belle swore this is the first year she's viewed his chances with such certainty.

``I'm not a golf fan, I hardly ever watch,'' she said. ``But I saw him on TV, and there's just something about him that caught my eye. He's Australian, isn't he? He is? See, I didn't even know that. It just came to me.''

Next we called Mrs. Graham over on Wrightsboro Road. She's been a card-carrying psychic for 15 years, since she was in high school. Mrs. Graham isn't a golf fan either, but she did predict the Braves would go to the World Series in 1991.

``I did it before the season even started,'' said Mrs. Graham, whose first name is Debbie.

We gave Mrs. Graham some details about five top contenders - Norman, Faldo, Phil Mickelson, David Frost and Lee Janzen. She didn't need much, just birthdates and birthplaces and full names. Twenty minutes later, she called back.

``Of those five people, none have an aura as strong as Greg's,'' she began, cautioning that her phone readings are 70 percent accurate, compared with 98 percent in person. ``I looked through his spirit and he seems very determined. He has a great aura. He has a great field of energy to pull him forward in anything he tries to do.''

We mentioned that maybe this had something to do with all that work on the Versaclimber. This seemed to confuse Mrs. Graham.

``I'm saying that his self-confidence and his energy are so high right now.'' she said. ``The energy-level range is zero to 10. Well, he's almost at that 10 right now. His outlook is picking up strong at this point.''

And how long does something like this last?

``Hard to say,'' Mrs. Graham said. ``If he goes through another day, his outlook might not be the same. That doesn't mean he's going to drop, but it's very hard to stay at that energy level.''

She paused before adding one more thing, something Norman must have asked himself so many times before.

``Is there any way,'' she asked, ``Greg could win the tournament (Saturday)? If he's going to do it, he needs to do it soon.''

Uh-oh.


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