Free Faldo/Norman by Andy Farrell Page B

Mid-Amateur champion, and future Walker Cup-winning captain in 2013 at National Golf Links. Stopping by to thank Will Nicholson, chairman of Augusta’s competitions committee, for some practice round tickets, Holtgrieve was asked if he had his clubs with him and fancied a game. Having retrieved them from his car, and dashed to the 3rd tee, he played the last 16 holes in two over, only one shot worse than Nobilo.
    Tway’s form had dipped since beating Norman at Inverness in 1986 but his confidence was finally returning. ‘In pursuit of getting better, I changed a few things and got worse,’ he said. The Oklahoman spent part of his growing up in Georgia and had loved the Masters ever since. It did not particularly love him, though his reward for a first appearance in five years was his best ever round of five under, helped by three birdies at Amen Corner (the picturesque part of the course that includes the 11th green, the short 12th hole and the 13th tee).
    Hoch finished with three birdies in the last four holes and could have gone even lower had three successive chances on the front nine not lipped out. But he also would have been the Masters champion in 1989 had not his tiny putt for victory at the first extra hole of the playoff not lipped out, too. Instead, Faldo went on to win his first green jacket at the next hole.
    For his opening round of the 1996 Masters, Faldo was paired with the 1995 Open champion John Daly. With Crenshaw and Woods in the pairing immediately in front, a lot of spectators were scurrying between the two groups trying to see which of the two big-hitters was actually the longer. At the 400-yard 17th, Woods hit a drive of 345 yards, Daly then stood up and hit one of 355 yards, though he would finish with a double bogey at the 18th for a 71. ‘It was good, fine,’ Faldo said of playing with the ‘Wild Thing’. ‘I think the Augusta crowd was very good.’
    In truth, Faldo could not have cared less about the commotion around him. His 69 was his best opening score since his first Masters win. He holed from eight feet at the 3rd for the first of four birdies, hit a wedge to a foot at the 8th, got up and down at the 13th and hit a seven-iron to eight feet for a rare two at the 16th hole, where Watson had suffered his five-putt, and Player, Singh and Gilford all took four putts. Faldo’s only real blemish was three-putting the 14th green. ‘I had a lot of good chances,’he said, ‘swung well and hit the ball where it was intended. I played nicely.’
    Of the conditions, which were expected to stay dry throughout the week, Faldo said: ‘It’s the first time I’ve seen Augusta when it’s dry on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Normally, it’s wet on the greens and the ball stops. It’s the first time we’ve had them dry and we know what we are in for with the weather forecast. It’s perfect for what they want. Just give that grass a drink, and that’s all it’s going to get. So the greens are going to be quick.’
    Faldo added: ‘If it gets firmer and firmer, you’re going to have to play very safe, cagey, or whatever you want to call it. I call it smart, aggressive, defensive. You’ve just got to land it in the right spots and try and pick them off when you have a chance.’
    After four holes of the final round on Sunday, Faldo was finding the right spots more often than not. Norman, less so.

Magnolia
Hole 5
Yards 435; Par 4

    G OLF TOURNAMENTS , particularly the major championships, are like marathons. Greg Norman sprinted clear of the field early in the 60th Masters and for two days backed up his record start. But by the time he reached the 5th hole on Sunday there were signs he was beginning to flag. It was Nick Faldo who would put in the sprint finish. ‘Everyone knows the tape is at the end of the 72 holes,’ said the Englishman.
    Over the last four decades, scoring a 63 in a major has been some help in winning a championship, but not that much. At Oak Hill in the 2013 US PGA,