‘Hard to See a Grown Man Cry’: LIV Golf Boss Greg Norman’s Gut-Wrenching Masters Agony Recalled by Ex-Caddie

The 1996 Masters was one of the most impressive comebacks by a golfer. It was also one of the worst 54-hole leads lost by a pro. While Nick Faldo led the charge to victory that year, it was none other than Greg Norman who bottled up the lead. The now-LIV Golf chief was arguably just hours away from his first Masters win when a water hazard at the par-3 16th hole resulted in a double bogey, drowning his Green Jacket dreams forever.

The dramatic turn of events left the golf fans bewildered. As for Norman, as per a recent narration by his former looper, Steve Williams, the loss had left him “broken, crying on the beach with just his friend and plenty of beer by his side.

Steve Williams mourned alongside Greg Norman after the 1996 Masters loss

The veteran caddie recently appeared on ‘The Dom Harvey’ Podcast’s latest episode. There, he opened up about how the 1996 loss had affected Norman. Steve Williams, even though he had stopped caddying for The Shark in 1989 itself, had still remained close with him, and after the Augusta event that year, he had even flown with Norman. The two headed to “the beach” with “an esky full of beers” to mourn the loss.

“There was no conversation,” claimed Williams, describing the atmosphere on the plane and after. As per the caddie, the whole scene was truly “heartbreaking” and “heart-wrenching” to witness, especially when Norman broke down right in front of him. “It was pretty hard to see a grown man cry. Yeah, he was broken,” he stated with a lump in his throat.

And Williams understood his pain. After all, the pair had spent eight years partnered up and seen many narrow losses together too. And this loss was perhaps worse than any other for Norman. Nearing his 21st year as a pro, he had not only blown a 7-stroke lead in the final round but also one of the best chances he had to grab the coveted Green Jacket 5-strokes away from the lead.

The loss at the 1996 Masters will undoubtedly always sting the LIV Golf CEO. As he cited years later, a number of mishaps led to the two-time Open Championship winner’s downfall on Sunday. And the two biggest of those were a stiff back and a mental shutdown!

Norman opens up about his biggest mistake that Sunday

In his book, ‘Win at Losing: How Our Biggest Setbacks Can Lead to Our Greatest Gains,’ Greg Norman detailed the many things that had taken up his mind in the 1996 Masters final round. On Sunday, he had woken up with a stiff back that not even a long stroll (a remedy that often worked for him) was able to soothe. Moreover, at the time, the 20-time PGA Tour winner was struggling mentally because his relationship was spiraling downward and even his business was suffering.

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When he headed to practice that day, Norman even noticed that he was off his game. “I could feel it. My Swing wasn’t there,” he said. But he had to play, and after bottling his feelings and listening to a few words of encouragement from his then-coach, Butch Harmon Norman, he started on his final stretch.

The 68-year-old later realized that had he “turned to them both [coach and caddie] and just purged” on that Sunday, perhaps that loss would have been avoided. He had internalized his issues and did not open up, and that led to the biggest defeat of his career!

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