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By Tom Hanson
Naples Daily News
Naples, Fla. - "Wow," said Greg Norman, shaking his head in disbelief as he walked off the 18th green.
Not even The Shark could believe that he and partner Steve Elkington fired a 17-under-par 55 on Sunday in the final-round scramble format of The Franklin Templeton Shootout at Tiburón Golf Club.
"Wow," Norman continued.
The wows were well deserved as Norman and Elkington tied a tournament record and set a course record for the format.
The fantastic finish also allowed them to jump from 11th place to fourth.
 | | Norman an Elkington combined to fire a 55 in Sunday's final round, tying the best score in Shootout history. |
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"This is one of those pretty special days considering it is the best score that has been shot in this tournament," Elkington said. "There are a lot of guys that haven't done what we did today."
Norman had already held part of the record. In 1993, at Sherwood Country Club, in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Norman paired with Nick Price and shot 55 in the scramble portion of the event. In 1998, Peter Jacobsen and John Cook equaled the feat. David Gossett and Matt Kuchar had held the Tiburón record with a 56 in 2002.
"That was a lot of fun to watch," said Jacobsen, who was paired in the group with partner Scott McCarron.
The key to the round was a lesson Elkington had given Norman the night before. Fresh off knee surgery a month ago, Norman's swing was out of sequence. But Elkington, who has won the Shootout with Norman in the past, fixed him right up.
"With me not playing much golf obviously, I was a little out of whack with my angles," said Norman, the tournament host and founder. "I have played enough golf with Steve over the years that he could pick it up very, very quickly. My performance from yesterday to today was just night and day. So he just corrected some of the angles with my upper body, and it gave me the confidence I needed."
Norman and Elkington birdied all but the third and 10th holes, one of the easier holes at Tiburón. They added an eagle on No. 17, which Norman nearly turned into a double-eagle when his 4-iron approach ended up two inches from the cup.
Norman, 50, said his swing and his knee, which he revealed had a meniscus tear, felt much better Sunday.
"Well you walk better when you feel like you are swinging well," Norman said. "When you are not swinging well it gets (to be) a bit of a burden on you. You get very down and frustrated. As I said, Steve has given me something to work on for the winter and that's what I needed. You can't just go out there and hit balls and hit balls."
Norman, Elkington and McCarron are heading to Australia for what they call "holidays." And someone on Norman's yacht might be saying "wow" when they catch what McCarron might be wearing.
Norman said the real incentive for the record round came from a wager he made with McCarron.
"It is going to be a long eight days for him," Norman said. "Let's just say it has something to do with a thong."
McCarron said the bet only entailed two days of the vacation, and clothing is still up for debate.
"I am going to be a man servant for two days on the boat," McCarron admitted. "The attire wasn't quite in the bet. I'm going to look into the contestant rules on that."
That may even get another "wow" out of Norman.
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