The shark returns to former hunting ground!

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Following the heroic efforts of Greg ‘The Shark’ Norman at Royal Birkdale last year with his sensational third place finish, it wouldn’t be beyond the realm of reality to think that maybe, just maybe, this year at Turnberry he could go even better.

Having been a previous Open Champion at the venue which has been on The Open schedule three times previously, it would be fair to say that Norman has experienced the very worst that Turnberry can throw at those wishing to claim victory on the Ailsa course. During his victory he shot an Open equaling record of 63 in very poor weather conditions, a feat that is rarely equaled in perfect playing conditions.

On his return this year to compete in the 138th Open Championship Norman said “Turnberry is special for lots of reasons, from a player standpoint, it has it all if you can stay in the hotel because then you just walk down the hill, you get on the driving range and you never put a key in the ignition of your car. This helps make it much more of a comfort zone for a player to go play. My memories of Turnberry are only good.”

He continued, “I still love to play this game. The Open last year, a lot of people think my performance was an anomaly but to me it wasn’t. It just convinces me even more of the fact that anybody, no matter how old they are or what position they hold in life, if they really want to focus their mind on to something then it really is very achievable.”

“I’m still strong. I may be 54 going on 55 but I’m still flexible. Sure, I have some aches and pains but I’ve kept myself in pretty good shape and that allows me to hit golf balls a couple of hours a day, day after day. To be honest with you, being a competitor who was at the top of the tree at one time, I know how good that feels. Sometimes there’s a wear and tear on it [when you force yourself back into the public eye] and so you don’t have the private time that I’ve gotten used to over recent years, but you accept that.

With the new found lease of life that ‘The Shark’ is experiencing since his marriage to former Tennis great Chris Evert it seems that age is not a factor which Norman believes can hold him back. With a wealth of experience to look back on and the ability to strike the ball as well as many in the current game, perhaps the on looking golf world will get to relive the Norman magic once more!