Shark Attack? Norman downplays return to Masters

Greg Norman will return to the scene of his infamous golfing crimes this week at Augusta National.

Norman, who seemingly mastered the art of the meltdown at the Masters, played his way back into the tournament with his great showing at last year's British Open, where he tied for third at Royal Birkdale. The Masters is scheduled to begin Thursday.

Norman, 54, hasn't played at Augusta National since 2002, and he said he knows that the course has changed a lot. Earlier this year he had a teleconference with reporters to talk about preparation for his 23rd Masters.

"I can tell you the golf course is 7,700 yards since I last played it, and that's adding about 420 yards," Norman said.

Norman has been back to play practice rounds and said of the course's length: "I was absolutely shocked, to tell you the truth."

Norman is best known for some tough breaks and one painful meltdown in 1996 that is seemingly replayed on The Golf Channel about every other day. He opened the '96 tournament with a course-record 63, but in the final round with a six-shot lead, he folded like an accordion.

There was also the chip-in by Augusta native Larry Mize in 1987 in a playoff that gave Mize his one and only major. The Mize chip-in happened the year after Jack Nicklaus held off Norman to win in 1986. Norman said that if there was one mulligan he'd like to take it would be in 1986 on his approach shot to the 18th hole, a 4-iron that sailed on him and led to a bogey that gave Nicklaus the last of his six green jackets.

He puts the Mize chip-in and the meltdown in '96 when Nick Faldo won in the same category.

"It was one of those situations that stick in your mind," Norman said of the chip-in. "It was a phenomenal shot and you never expected it to go in, and it went in. I've made the comment many times: ‘I never expected him to get up and down in two, and he did get up and down in one.'

"But nothing beyond that scale where I had no control over it. And the other bad loss to me was when I lost in ‘96, when I had the six-shot lead. That was another one of the bad ones."

It's probably a stretch to think that Norman could contend this week, but wouldn't it be something if he were on the leaderboard on Sunday?

Norman, who has been runner-up three times, has basically been a ceremonial golfer the past few years. But last summer he decided to play in the British Open, where he is exempt, and he played well enough to be the third-round leader.

With his son, Gregory, on the bag Norman said that the pressure and expectations this time around aren't there. It's a lot different when Norman was ranked No. 1 and had so many chances to win more majors.

"I want to make sure that everybody manages their expectations," he said.

Norman hasn't done much this year on the course, but he has put in a lot more hours of practice and is as fit as he was in his prime. When he was reminded soon after his British Open showing that he had qualified for the Masters, he didn't sound as if he was interested.

However, he said he later thought about it and now says he's looking forward to it.

"Just the fact that it's the Masters, and I wanted to get back there for a lot of reasons," he said.

Norman, who is married to Chris Evert, a former tennis star, said he's looking forward to showing her around Augusta National.

"It's one of my favorite tournaments, too," Norman said. "A couple of people really wanted me to go there, and also, Chrissie has never seen the Masters. So to get her there and to see what I think is the greatest golf championship and my favorite golf tournament of all time was another factor."

New golf rankings are out

The North Carolina Golf Panel has released its 2008 rankings, with little change at the top.

Pinehurst No. 2 received the top spot once again. No. 2, which has been the site of two U.S. Opens and will play host to the U.S. Open in 2014, has been at the top of the rankings since they were established in 1995.

Bill Hensley, a Wake Forest graduate who works in golf public relations, started the panel in 1995. It consists of 135 members including club pros, industry executives, notable amateurs and business executives.

"Of course, we realize that our rankings are subject to great debate," said Kevin Brafford, the executive director of the panel.

Rounding out the top five is Old North State Club at Uwharrie Point, Grandfather Mountain, Pine Needles and the Country Club of North Carolina.

Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro made a significant jump from 37th to 20th after a redesign by Kris Spence. Forsyth Country Club, which was also redesigned by Spence, jumped from 71st to 41st.

Old Town Club is ranked 23rd and is the highest ranked course from Forsyth County.

Tanglewood Park is ranked 51st and Bermuda Run came in 68th.

For a complete list of the rankings go to www.ncgolfpanel.com.

Around the green

The Old North State Club at Uwharrie Point is for sale and it looks as if John McConnell, the president and owner of McConnell Golf, is close to buying it, according to several sources. Old North State Club, where the ACC men's golf championships will be held later this month, is a private, Tom Fazio design that's been open since 1989. The course, which is in New London and borders Badin Lake, is owned by Dominion Resources in Richmond, Va. McConnell also owns Raleigh Country Club, Treyburn Country Club in Durham and The Cardinal in Greensboro….

Freshman Lee Bedford of Wake Forest fired a career-best 5-under 66 to help the Deacons tie for seventh at the The Hootie at Bulls Bay tournament in Awendaw, S.C. He started the final round tied for 41st but finished tied for 15th. "It was good to see Lee turn it around a little," Coach Jerry Haas said. Also tying for 15th was Travis Wadkins. Senior Dustin Groves tied for 19th and Brendan Gielow tied for 33rd….

It's no wonder that TV executives are glad Tiger Woods is back to full strength. NBC announced last week that the overnight Nielsen rating for the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational was up 23 percent from last year's final round. The 4.9/10 rating for Woods' victory was the highest overnight rating for a golf telecast since last June's final round of the U.S. Open, which Woods eventually won in a playoff over Rocco Mediate.

■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com.