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By Greg Hardwig
Naples Daily News
The Golf Channel's Vince Cellini recently asked Nick Faldo what was going through his mind when he won the 1996 Masters.
Faldo wriggled a bit in his chair, looking a bit uncomfortable.
"Obviously, well, it's a real tough one, isn't it?" Faldo said. "With him sitting here, this is very different."
Faldo and Greg Norman were sitting together in the studio, asked to reminisce about one of the biggest collapses in golf history. Today, they'll tee it up as a team in Norman's Franklin Templeton Shootout at Tiburón Golf Club.
 | | Norman: "Now, life has changed. We've got a lot to talk about. We've got a lot of time to catch up on." |
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In 1996, Norman led the Masters by six shots over Faldo entering the final round. But Norman collapsed while Faldo held steady. After 11 holes, the two were even. Norman then double-bogeyed No. 12 after hitting into the water, and did the same on No. 16 to end his chances.
Faldo won by five shots with a 5-under-par 67, while Norman shot a 78. It was Faldo's sixth major and third Masters.
"I had my game plan and I clawed away at him and got it back and what have you," Faldo said.
"We never really talked the whole day because I'm trying to fight my way out of a demise I could feel coming," Norman said.
Fast-forward to the media center at Tiburón on Thursday. Norman and Faldo had separate press conferences.
Even though much has been made of their 1996 connection, Norman said the pairing is not about that. Believe it or not, it's about getting to know one another better. After 30 years of trying to beat in each other's brains.
"When I was sitting back and thinking about (the pairings), I said 'You know, life is too short,"' Norman said. "I haven't really understood Nick as a person, as a friend, and he probably doesn't know me as a person and as a friend either. I said 'Why not?'"
So Norman called up Faldo and asked if he was interested in playing. Faldo agreed. Then Norman waited a few days and called him again.
"You hear this pregnant pause at the end of the line," Norman said with a chuckle. "I think he was pleasantly surprised."
"I said to Nick, 'If you and I can't have a good time and help each other out after being competitive against each other for 30 years, then there's something seriously wrong with us.'"
For many golf fans, the image of Faldo hugging Norman on the 18th green is an indelible one. What did Faldo say to Norman? His concern was the media session afterward, which Norman would stay in for nearly an hour.
"To go in and face the media, I would've done five," Faldo said on The Golf Channel. "I would've gone in and read my statement."
"To just stand there and take it on the chin... that's what I said to him on the 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, (to) have a six-shot lead at a major," Faldo said Thursday. "I blew a four-shot lead at Muirfield and managed to clamber it back. At least I kind of knew what that felt like. Fortunately, I haven't scarred myself in majors. So that was a scar for him."
Norman and Faldo do have their similarities. Both were at the top of the golf world. Norman had the money and top rankings, but Faldo had more success in the majors. He won six, while Norman won two.
"So we had this incredible competitive rivalry, and I loved it because he was an intense guy to play against," Norman said. "... He's a guy who would walk on the first tee, cut your heart out and hand it back to you at the end of the round. He was so intent on beating you."
"Were we great friends during that time period? Absolutely not. We never went out to dinner, we never sat down and even had lunch in the locker room, but at the same time we respected each other because we knew if we beat each other we were going to be right there at the top of the heap."
Both have now passed or are about to pass the age of 50. Both have broadened into businesses and golf course design, while Faldo has also been a golf analyst and will be the lead one for CBS Sports next year.
"Now, life has changed," Norman said. "He's off in the business world, and I'm off in the business world, and quite honestly, we've got a lot to talk about. We've got a lot of time to catch up on."
"We'll give it a try," Faldo said. "If we can sit at a bar and chat like any normal guys shooting the breeze over a beer, great. We shall see."
Will he bring up 1996? Well, not likely.
"I'm sure he'll be asking me what club I hit on certain holes," Faldo said Wednesday, tongue firmly planted in cheek. "No, I'll go gentle on him on that one."
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