As soon as the round was over, Norman went and faced the media and ended up staying for an hour talking about what had just happened. Did that surprise you?
Absolutely – and huge credit to him for doing that. I couldn’t have done the same. I would have needed to sleep on what happened and gone back and done the interviews the next morning. Or maybe just go in and read a statement, get the thing over in five minutes. But credit to Greg. To stand there and take it on the chin... that’s what I said to him on the [eighteenth] green, I said “Don’t let the bastards beat you down” because I knew what was coming. I genuinely felt for the guy on that day because, hey, that would have scarred me if it happened to me.
Where does the two-iron you struck into the heart of the thirteenth green during the final round that year rank among your best-ever shots?
Oh, right up there. The thing about that shot was the timing [Faldo ended up two-putting to match Norman’s birdie and maintain his two- shot lead]. It came at such a pivotal point in the round. I was originally going to go with the five-wood but the ball wasn’t sitting right, so I switched to the two-iron, which came across as indecision on TV, but it wasn’t. You can’t go left and you can’t go right on that hole, because of the water, which easily brings bogey into play, so yeah, it was a great shot at just the right moment.
Which was better – that or Phil Mickelson’s shot from off the pine straw on the same hole last year?
[Laughs]. Well Phil’s was definitely a wonderful moment, a real adrenaline moment – it’s great to commentate on a shot like that. I can’t believe how steady these guys are on the pine needles. I hated being on the stuff. Normally my foot would slip as I was making a turn and I’d end up catching the ball heavy and it would only go 50 yards or so. But as a shot his was just fantastic.
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