Bowed But Not Broken

Take the Grand Slam. Norman talks about It as though It can be achieved. But what happens when you talk about It and then you lose the first leg of It and It's over before It has begun? Did Norman tempt the gods of golf?

"I don't believe in the gods of golf," Norman says. "The only god is within yourself, because that's your own desires. I didn't tempt anybody, because if I had won the Masters this year, could you imagine what would be going on now? ...People want to hear this stuff. You want to write about it. The players want to hear about it.... Everybody's been so scared of winning the four majors. I mean that's the god's honest truth. They've been scared of doing it!"

Take Greg Norman. Unhexed. Unafraid. Unsqueamish about saying what he wants and spitting in the eye of predestination. "I don't consider those losses a waste of time. No way. I haven't really served my apprenticeship in the major leagues. I'm getting there right now. These losses I'm taking are going to be to my benefit down the line, that's the way I treat it."

How much benefit can one guy stand?

Welcome to Olympic, a course that should fit Norman like a spandex suit, a course that rewards the long, straight hitter. Many of the holes dogleg at about 260 yards, unreachable for most players. Norman, whom Johnny Miller calls "the greatest driver of the golf ball in history," could resemble a hungry frog at a convention of slow flies.

"I'm looking forward to Olympic more than any other [tournament]," Norman says. "And if I come down the last three or four holes of the U.S. Open tied or one in front or two in front, I think I'll win the tournament."

Wince. There he goes, tempting Them again. Doesn't Norman know that every time Olympic has held an Open the course trashed the era's B.M.O.C? In 1955, Ben Hogan lost to Jack Fleck in a playoff. In 1966, Arnold Palmer wasted seven shots in the last nine holes and lost to Billy Casper in a playoff. Can you imagine the two of them together, Norman and Olympic?

So what will it be this time? Scott Hoch (four letters), climbing a tree and knocking his ball 220 yards into the hole? Or maybe Jodie Mudd ricocheting from a beer stand into the cup? Or maybe Norman will be leading by 10 shots and a safe will fall on his head.

"No, no, no," says Laura. "It just couldn't happen again. In fact, I really feel more of a relief now. It's all over. And you know what? I have a feeling that this time Greg is going to pull one of those miracles on somebody else."