FROM THE VAULT

Greg Norman was in awe of himself at The Open in 1993, plus the top-10 low final rounds to win major championships.

Twenty-eight years have passed since Greg Norman hoisted the Claret Jug at Royal St George’s to celebrate his second Open Championship victory.

The Shark – who first won golf’s original major at Turnberry in 1986 – began the championship knowing he would need to overcome one of the toughest courses on the Open rota, as well as legendary figures such as Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Corey Pavin, Nick Price, Peter Senior and Fred Couples.

Not even his double-bogey six at the opening hole could stop Norman from shooting four-under 66 to grab a share of the first-round lead. But by Friday evening, Norman found himself two shots adrift of his old rival Faldo, who had fired a 63 that equaled the Open record.

“Faldo’s not infallible,” Norman said. “I played well enough to give me a lot of good feelings for the weekend. I think this will go right down to the wire.”

The third round saw Faldo card an even-par 70 to share the lead with Pavin. Norman, meanwhile, posted a one under 69 to sit one shot back heading into Sunday.

“I feel good about my chances. I wish we could play right now,” Norman said ominously on Saturday evening.

The 38-year-old Norman bolted early, nailing a birdie putt from nine feet on the opening hole to share the lead with Faldo. By the time Queenslander made the turn, he had reached 11-under par for the championship and led Faldo and Langer by two shots.

Norman continued to play near-flawless golf as the wind picked up and the clouds parted, making further birdies at the 12th and 14th holes and sinking a 10-foot par-saver at the 15th. Faldo wasn’t doing anything wrong himself – making birdies of his own at the 11th and 14th holes – but his Australian opponent wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down, extending his lead to three with another birdie at the 16th.

His only mistake for the entire round came at the penultimate hole … Having reached the back of the green with his approach, Norman putted within a foot and a half. But then, rather carelessly, lipped out and his lead was cut to two.

“My stomach fell, probably more from embarrassment,” Norman later told reporters.

Undeterred, Norman drilled his drive down the middle of the 18th – he managed to find every fairway during the final round – and played an exquisite 4-iron to 18 feet to set up a comfortable par.

On his way to the 18th green, amid the roars of the crowd, Norman was approached by his playing partner, Langer, who told him: “That was the greatest golf I’ve ever seen in my life. You deserve to win.”

The Aussie made his par on the final hole and eventually topped the starstudded leaderboard at one of the toughest championship courses on the planet, defeating Faldo by two shots.

The great Gene Sarazen, who was being honoured 61 years on from his victory at the neighbouring Prince’s Golf Club, was full of praise for Norman, remarking: “I just saw the greatest championship round I’ve seen in all my 70 years in golf.”

Norman, himself, was impressed with his record-setting final round. His six-under-par 64 was the lowest final round by an Open champion at the time, while he recorded the best aggregate score of 267.

“I can honestly say that in my entire career, that I’ve never gone around a golf course and never mis-hit a shot,” Norman said. “I’m just in awe of myself and the way I hit the golf ball today, it was just perfect.” Added Norman, via his official website: “To win this championship, the most important golf title in the world, and to win against those players, means

everything.”