Bridesmaid Revisited

"But I don't think I could be meaner if I wanted to. I give 110 percent on the course, but I also sleep at night. Where I was brought up, you give it your best, and if somebody beats you fair and square, you congratulate him for it and move on. Keep trying. Try harder. Too hard? Perhaps."

At Augusta, Mark Calcavecchia opined that Norman might want it too badly. And indeed, there is a sense of urgency about his game now. He waggles over the ball, deliberates as never before. Some players see this as an interruption of Norman's customary rhythm. Others suspect that these meticulous ways reflect all the recreational golf Norman plays with Nicklaus, his close friend and neighbor in North Palm Beach, Fla., where Greg and Laura have recently built their oceanfront dream house.

"I am trying to study golf and manage the game more, the way Jack does," Norman says. "You know, one of the unique things about Jack—besides his competitive spirit and enormous pride—is the fact that he plays the golf course backward, from green to tee. As soon as he steps away from one green, he's looking toward the next green to see where the pin is. Then he visualizes that hole in reverse. In other words: Where do I have to hit the ball on the tee shot to have it in the right spot for the approach shot to have it in the spot where I want to reach the green?"

Nicklaus in his salad days was an intimidating presence who could at once strike fear into foes and elevate their games to another level. He believes Norman might inspire similar emotions. But at 34, Nicklaus already had 14 of his 20 major championships.

"With the glory goes the pressure," Nicklaus says. "That's part of the deal.... There's no question that Greg has the ability to be as great as he wants to be, and he certainly has the temperament and the work habits. Greg works a lot harder than I ever did at my game. He's on the practice tee at eight in the morning.

"I believe that the United States might just be his last frontier. He's won all over the world, with some incredible streaks. Six, seven tournaments in a row against good competition, on tough courses. He could do the same thing over here. He could win one major soon, and then win five of the next six or six of the next eight, something like that. This might just be his last stop. He's got the great talent and the great attitude, but if he's going to get there, he's going to have to get on with it. He's going to have to make a move in the next two or three years."

As a late starter in golf—he didn't take it up seriously until age 16—Norman is still "gee whiz" about his career. He not only enjoys the physical act of playing and the spice of competition, but he also savors the trappings of his sport. He doesn't engage in exchanges with spectators on cue, but on genuine impulse. Maybe it's the good-natured Aussie in him. Besides, he doesn't feel a day over 28.

"That's my golf age, not 34," he says. "But I should win more than I have, and I want to in the worst way. When I won the British Open, I wasn't ready to win a bunch of majors. I feel ready now, but first I've got to get the next one, and I'm very aware of wanting it too much. If I try too hard, I could lose. I also know that if I reach 39 and haven't done it, it might be too late. I don't want to be remembered as the poor fellow who was there for those two chip-ins. I've got to believe there will be a day...."