Aussies had plenty of close calls at Masters

Greg Norman’s list of close calls at the Masters Tournament is legendary.

There’s 1986, when the popular Australian came to the 72nd hole tied with Jack Nicklaus. Norman pushed his approach far right on No. 18 and made bogey, and Nicklaus walked away with his sixth green jacket.

A year later, the Great White Shark found himself in a three-way playoff with Seve Ballesteros and Augusta native Larry Mize. The hometown boy holed a miraculous chip from 140 feet on the second playoff hole to leave Norman empty-handed again.

Those two close calls, however, were nothing compared with Norman’s downfall in 1996. Like Ken Venturi’s collapse 40 years earlier, Norman could blame no one but himself.

Norman was the top-ranked golfer in the world, and Nick Faldo wasn’t far behind. The best days of Masters legends such as Nicklaus and Tom Watson were behind them, and no young superstars had emerged at Augusta National Golf Club. Tiger Woods, still an amateur, missed the cut that year.

All signs pointed to a “Norman conquest” in 1996 as he opened the Masters with a record-tying 63. The score matched his good friend Nick Price’s 9-under round in 1986 as the best in tournament history.

A 69 in the second round and a 71 in the third put Norman six ahead of Faldo and seven clear of Phil Mickelson going into the final round.

Norman’s failure to hold 54-hole leads in majors had been duly noted by the press. After all, he achieved the “Saturday Slam” in 1986: He led all four majors through three rounds, but won only the British Open that year. Still, veteran Augusta observers figured this would be the year Norman would get his green jacket. The headline in Sunday’s Augusta Chronicle read, “Shark Smells Blood.”

Even Faldo, who had won back-to-back Masters in 1989 and 1990 with impressive comebacks, figured it was Norman’s year to win.

Norman and Faldo teed off under perfect conditions that Sunday, and it didn’t take long for Norman to show signs of vulnerability. He bogeyed the first hole but came back with birdie at No. 2, then made bogeys on Nos. 4 and 9 for a 38. Faldo played the front in 2-under 34, and as the two set off on the final nine, the margin had been reduced to two.

The pressure was now squarely on Norman, who promptly made bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11 to see the rest of his lead disappear.

Faldo – the cool, calculating Brit – applied more pressure on the 12th when he hit the green with his tee shot. Now it was Norman’s turn, and his iron shot hung out to the right. The ball hit the bank and trickled into Rae’s Creek, leading to a double bogey. Augusta’s patrons, not to mention millions of television viewers, were in shock: Norman now trailed by two.

Norman matched Faldo over the next three holes with two birdies and a par, but came to the 16th still trailing. He hooked his tee shot so far left that it found the pond that guards the green, and the resulting double bogey left him down four. After that tee shot, Norman bent over at the waist and stared at the ground, and the resulting image became the cover shot for the following week’s Sports Illustrated.

It was over, and Norman’s day of celebration had gone worse than anyone could have imagined. His 78 to Faldo’s 67 left him five behind, and it set a record for futility as the biggest blown lead in major championship history.

“Nick played good golf, and I played poorly,” Norman said. “You can make up a lot of shots when that happens. It’s not the end of the world for me. I’m not going to fall off the edge of the world because of what happened.”

It also extended Norman’s misery at Augusta. Only Tom Weiskopf finished as runner-up in the Masters more times (four) without winning than Norman.

Norman was gracious in defeat, and he put it in perspective in his session with reporters after the round.

“I let this one get away,” Norman said. “I’ll wake up tomorrow morning still breathing, I hope.”

BRUCE CRAMPTON

Bruce Crampton achieved a lot in his 19 appearances at the Masters Tournament.

He won the Par-3 Contest in 1962.

He set a record for most eagles in a single tournament with four in 1974.

But the Australian never would slip on the green jacket that goes to the winner. His best showing came in 1972, when he tied for second behind Jack Nicklaus.

It was the best showing by an Australian in the Masters, and it foreshadowed what was to come for golfers from Down Under until Adam Scott’s victory in Augusta in 2013.

Nicklaus won his fourth green jacket that year despite scores that became progressively worse with each day of the tournament.

Crampton fell eight shots behind Nicklaus after opening with rounds of 72 and 75.

But the Australian cut that deficit in half with a 69 in the third round, and he shot 73 to Nicklaus’s 74 in the final round.

“This is one of my greatest thrills,” Crampton said after the final round in 1972. “But I have to rank winning the Australian Open in my own native land as my top thrill. If I ever came in first here, I would probably have to change my mind.”

The native of Sydney would go on to win 42 tournaments worldwide, including 14 on the PGA Tour, but he never broke through to win a major championship.

For that he can blame Nicklaus.

Two months after his runner-up finish at the Masters, Crampton was second to Nicklaus again at the 1972 U.S. Open.

Then, in 1973 and 1975, Crampton was second in the PGA Championship. The winner of both of those majors also was Nicklaus.

But Crampton said after the 1972 Masters that he didn’t regret his decision to come to the United States in the 1950s.

“I came to America to play against the best players in the world,” he said. “It’s the equivalent of playing in the Super Bowl every week. Only this week (the Masters), it’s the Super-Super Bowl.”

JIM FERRIER

Before Peter Thomson’s dominance in the British Open in the 1950s, and way before Greg Norman’s near misses at Augusta, there was Jim Ferrier.

The Australian golfer isn’t a household name for most golf fans. Born in Sydney, Ferrier dominated the amateur scene in Australia in the 1930s before deciding that he would turn professional and move to the United States.

That was in the 1940s, and because of World War II Ferrier and his wife had to take jobs in the defense industry in order to become American citizens, according to one biography. Perhaps that is why Ferrier isn’t listed as an Australian in the Masters media guide.

Ferrier is credited as the first Australian to win a major, and it came at the 1947 PGA. In those days the PGA was contested at match play, and Ferrier beat Chick Harbert 2 and 1 in the finals.

Ferrier went on to win 18 PGA Tour events, and he claimed victory in another 10 tournaments on the Australasian tour.

At the Masters, Ferrier played 15 times between 1940 and 1965. From 1946 to 1952, he only finished out of the top 10 once.

In 1950, Ferrier was in excellent position to become the first foreign-born golfer to win at Augusta National. Tied with Ben Hogan for the 54-hole lead, Ferrier played the first nine holes in 34. Victory appeared imminent for the big Australian.

With Hogan on his way to 76, Ferrier’s only other pursuer was Jimmy Demaret. The two-time Masters champion was playing well ahead of Ferrier and posted 69 to take the clubhouse lead.

With six holes to play, Ferrier had a two-shot cushion. But things started to fall apart at the par-5 13th, when he made bogey. A 3-putt at the 14th cost him another shot. He did par the 15th, but he closed with three consecutive bogeys for an inward nine of 41 and a final round of 75.

Ferrier’s collapse allowed Demaret to become the first three-time winner of the Masters.

JACK NEWTON

Jack Newton (right) could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Playing alongside Seve Ballesteros in the final round of the 1980 Masters Tournament, Newton found himself 10 shots behind as the two played the front nine.

Then the young Spaniard, who had a chance to establish the 72-hole scoring record, began unraveling. Ballesteros played Nos. 10-13 in 4-over fashion.

Newton, meanwhile, reeled off birdies at all three holes of Amen Corner. Suddenly, he was only three behind with five to play.

“I never really thought I had a chance on the front side,” Newton said. “I knew I had a chance on the back, but I felt like I had to do something like eagle 13 or 15.”

But the Australian missed his eagle putt on the 13th, and then three-putted the 15th after hitting the par-5 hole in two shots. Ballesteros birdied the 15th, and order was restored as he cruised to a four-shot win over Newton and Gibby Gilbert.

“I really think I needed to make the eagle putt on 13,” Newton said after the round. “When I three-putted 15 that was the end of it.”

Newton had never fared particularly well in three previous trips to the Masters, but in 1980 he figured out Augusta National with three rounds in the 60s.

He also wasn’t afraid of Ballesteros, who became the youngest Masters winner at the time.

“I felt that I played well enough all week to push him, but that’s the way golf is,” Newton said. “It was his week to win.”

Newton won nine times in his professional career. Prior to the 1980 Masters, his best chance to win a major came at the 1975 British Open. He lost an 18-hole playoff to Tom Watson at Carnoustie.

Newton’s playing career was cut short when he suffered a horrific accident in the summer of 1983. A propeller hit Newton as he tried to board an airplane, costing him his right arm and eye, and he suffered abdominal injuries that were life-threatening.

Newton recovered, even learning to play the game one-handed, and went on to have a successful career as a TV analyst.

He said the pinnacle of his career was winning the 1979 Australian Open. But his performance at the 1980 Masters also was a highlight.

“I’m very satisfied with this, too,” he said.

JASON DAY

With three runner-up finishes in major championships, Jason Day figures it’s just a matter of time before he breaks through.

“As long as I keep knocking on the door, I think I’ll win a major here soon,” the 25-year-old Australian said.

His peers, and most experts, would agree.

Day’s latest brush with a major came in June at the U.S. Open. He tied for second, two shots behind winner Justin Rose, at Merion Golf Club.

Day made bogey on the difficult closing hole, while Rose was able to make par.

“I think I’ve just got to keep putting myself in position to win,” Day said. “And I feel that my game is in a really good spot right now. I’m doing the right things. I’m doing the little things that count.”

Day earned his other runner-up finishes in majors in 2011. At the Masters Tournament, he and countryman Adam Scott were two shots behind Charl Schwartzel. At the U.S. Open, Day was a distant second as Rory McIlroy romped to an eight-shot victory.

“I’ve been close so many times now in majors, especially at a young age, which is nice,” Day said at Merion. “I’m still 25. I turn 26 at the end of the year. I’ve got plenty of majors to play in and hopefully I can keep doing the same as I’m doing, and hopefully win one soon.”

Day has had a couple of close calls at Augusta National Golf Club. In the second round in 2011, Day blitzed the layout with an 8-under-par 64 that was one stroke off the course record.

Paired in the final round with Scott, the two Aussies posted impressive scores but ultimately lost to Schwartzel’s historic finish.

“I didn’t expect that Charl would come back with four birdies to finish it off,” Day said. “But hats off to him. I’m very happy with the way I handled myself out there.”

At last year’s Masters, both Day and Scott were in the mix in the final round. Day seized the lead with birdies at Nos. 13, 14 and 15 in the final round.

But he gave two shots back with bogeys at Nos. 16 and 17, and missed out on the playoff between Scott and Angel Cabrera. All Day could do was sit and cheer his countryman as Scott birdied the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to give Australia its first green jacket.

Day said that whether he wins a major is up to him.

“If I want it enough and I’m willing to do the hard work and practice and keep myself dedicated, I think it will happen,” Day said. “If I slack off and don’t do the work then it won’t happen. And that’s just plain and simple.”

DAVID GRAHAM

David Graham wasn’t surprised at how Australia reacted when Adam Scott won the Masters Tournament.

After all, Graham was the first Aussie to take home the U.S. Open title. He achieved that feat in 1981 at Merion Golf Club outside Philadelphia.

Graham remembers a similar celebration for him back home. He also was happy to see his countryman bounce back after squandering a big lead at the British Open in 2012.

“I think that everybody that plays competitively, and we all saw what happened to Adam Scott at the Open Championship, we all dreaded that ever happening to us,” Graham said at last year’s U.S. Open. “And to see someone that’s got the golf game and the fortitude and the heart and the guts and the desire to put that behind them and come back and win a major championship is a true testament to his abilities mentally and skill‑wise.”

Graham, now 67, enjoyed a career with 38 worldwide wins and two major championships. He won the 1979 PGA Championship to go along with his victory at Merion.

The Australian came of age when golfers were just becoming more comfortable with competing overseas on a regular basis.

“I think that it’s great that golf has become such a global sport,” Graham said. “And I think that you’ve got to look back to when (Arnold) Palmer and (Jack) Nicklaus and Player – Gary Player won seven Australian Opens in the late ‘60s through the mid‑’70s. I mean traveling from South Africa. We didn’t have nonstop flights from Joburg to Sydney in those days. (Lee) Trevino came and played in Australia. That’s where guys of my era, that’s where we saw the best players play. Jack Nicklaus won six Australian Opens in the late ’60s and ’70s.”

While Graham never seriously contended for a Masters title – his best finish was fifth in 1980 – he understood the value of playing around the world. He collected wins on the PGA Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia.

“It’s great that we see modern day players continuing to make it a global sport by going overseas and showing the world what great golf is,” Graham said. “It’s a wonderful thing to see.”

The current state of the game astonishes Graham.

“I never thought I would see in my lifetime where I think six of the top 10 players were from Europe,” he said. “And if you would have told me that 30 years ago, I would have said you’ve got to be kidding. No one envisioned the game would grow as much as it has and it’s great for the sport.”