The Shark

"The Great White Shark" Greg Norman - Architect of Stone Canyon Golf Club Stone Canyon Golf Club is the first and currently only Greg Norman Signature Design in the State of Missouri.
Greg Norman - "The Great White Shark"
Height:	6'0"
Weight:	180
Birthday:	Feb. 10, 1955
Birthplace:	Queensland, Australia
Residence:	Hobe Sound, Fla.
Special Interests:	Fishing, Scuba Diving
Turned Professional:	1976
Joined PGA Tour:	1983

Career Highlights:

91 Career Victories (20 PGA Tour, 71 International and Others)
2001 World Golf Hall of Fame Inductee
2-time British Open Champion (1986 Turnberry, 1993 Royal St. Georges)
5-time Byron Nelson Award winner for the lowest adjusted scoring average (1988, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995) Awarded by the PGA Tour
3-time Vardon Trophy winner for the lowest adjusted scoring average (1989, 1990, 1994) Awarded by the PGA of America
3-time Arnold Palmer Award winner (1986, 1990, 1995)
1995 Jack Nicklaus Award winner PGA Tour Player of the Year
1995 PGA Player of the Year Award winner PGA of America's top PGA Tour player
Held No. 1 World Ranking for 331 weeks

Greg Norman was labeled the "Great White Shark" by a newspaper reporter during the 1981 Masters Tournament, but he began exhibiting all the characteristics of that deep-sea creature long before that.

As a teenager, like today, Norman never did anything halfway. He was a regular on the rugby and Australian Rules football fields of Queensland and was regarded as an outstanding player. He was born Feb. 10, 1955, to Mervyn and Toini Norman. Merv was an engineer and Toini a homemaker and an accomplished golfer.

The young Norman, whose older sister Janis and parents still reside in Australia, spent his time swimming, fishing and playing contact sports with friends. But when as a 15-year-old he decided to give golf a try in 1970, he did it aggressively with the intent to succeed.

His interest in the same started with an unusual offer to his mother that he caddy for her during a regular mid-week game. Following the round, he asked if he could borrow her clubs and set out on his own.
What his mother could not have imagined was that the young boy who had never taken an interest in the game would become one of the greatest golfers the game has ever known.

Just two years removed from that first day at Virginia Golf Club in Brisbane, Australia, Norman was a scratch golfer, averaging par or better each time he played. For the next few years, he spent time working as an Australian PGA trainee, playing amateur and open tournaments throughout Australia before turning professional in 1976 -- just six years after caddying for his mother.

From the days in 1975 when he made $38 a week working as a trainee in the Royal Queensland golf shop, Norman has earned more than $1 million five times on the U.S. PGA Tour, including three Arnold Palmer Awards as the Tour's leading money winner in 1986, '89 and '94. He was also the first person in Tour history to surpass $10 million in career earnings.

But his crowning achievements are British Open Championships in 1986 and 1993. The first came at Turnberry in Scotland, where he shot a tournament-record-tying 63 en route to a five-shot victory over Gordon Brand, and the second at Royal St. George's, where he trailed by one stroke entering the final day and closed with 64 to defeat Nick Faldo by two.

In total, Norman has won 86 professional events around the world, including 20 U.S. PGA Tour titles.

He has 29 top 10 finishes in Majors (Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, British Open, PGA Championship), or more than 38 percent of those he has entered.

And while his well-documented wins on the golf course secured him a spot in the World Golf Hall of Fame, he continues to work at both his game and a business that promises to succeed long after his playing days are behind him.

He serves as Chairman and CEO of Great White Shark Enterprises, a multinational corporation that comprises several companies and divisions including Greg Norman Golf Course Design, Medallist Golf Developments, Greg Norman Turf Company, Greg Norman Interactive, Greg Norman Production Company, merchandising and licensing.

More info on Greg Norman

Greg Norman Becomes Open Champion

The 1986 Open Championship was played at Turnberry. Thursday dawned cold, wet and windy, producing high scoring among the players for the first round. Only one player, Ian Woosnam managed to score 70 and match par. Earlier in the day, Nick Faldo had gone round in 71 and became one of only four players to go one over. Greg Norman started well with two birdies at the first two holes and reached the turn in 35 strokes. He had a rough ride home and finished on 74.

The second day saw better weather conditions and lower scores but still only fifteen players finished below par. Among these was Greg Norman who scored an outstanding 63, equaling the lowest round score in the history of The Open. His round consisted of one eagle, eight birdies, six pars and two bogeys, the last of which came at the 18th to rob him of a possible 62. He surged to the top of the leader board with a score of 137, two shots clear of Gordon J. Brand. Tsuneyuki Nakajima and Nick Faldo were a further two strokes behind whilst Bernhard Langer was on 142.

Once again, skies darkened and rain fell. On the third day of play, only one man could beat par, Ho Ming Chung of Taiwan, who had the advantage of an early start and better weather conditions. Four players scored 70, including a delighted Woosnam and Lyle, who were keeping British hopes for a win alive. Nakajima also stayed in contention, scoring one over par and finishing one off the lead.

Faldo and Langer dropped back with 76's, while Brand battled with the worsening weather and shot 75, to finish three shots off the lead. Norman had a reversal of the previous day's fortunes. He gained a five stroke lead during his round, but five bogeys on the back nine left him with a tenuous one stroke lead over Nakajima going into the final day.

The weather finally relented for the final day of the competition. The biggest surprise of the day came from Seve Ballesteros who shot 64 to finish on 288. Nakajima started his final round with a double bogey at the first hole and rapidly fell away from contention. A final score of 77 gave him a total of 289 and a joint 7th finishing position. Brand's round of 71 included an eagle at the 17th and he finished with 285. A surprise late challenge of the day came from Bernhard Langer. He played an excellent second nine, with huge crowd support, to score 68 and finish with 286. This was good enough to tie for third with Woosnam, who scored 72. Norman, however, was on top of his game. He played a cool round of 69 to finish on a total of 280 and become The Champion Golfer of the Year, five strokes ahead of Brand.

Courtesy: www.opengolf.com/championshipgolf

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Superb 64 Earns Norman's Second Title

When Nick Faldo fired a final round 67 in the 1993 Open at Royal St George's it followed earlier rounds of 69-63-70 and gave him every prospect of victory with a 269 total. But he had reckoned without the determination of Greg Norman.

The Australian had started the day one shot behind Faldo and the tough target he set looked out of reach. But Norman was a man inspired. Veteran Gene Sarazen described his final round as 'awesome'. And nobody argued with that.

Norman said: 'In my whole career I'd never before gone round a golf course and not miss-hit a single shot. I was playing a game of chess out there, hitting the ball into position in the fairway where I could get it to the best spot on the green. I didn't want the round to end. I wished it could have been 36 holes.'

Yet that final round of 64 included a missed putt of 14 inches at the 17th. 'I must have got careless,' admitted Norman, 'but the mistake did me a world of good because it made me determined to make sure on the last hole. His rounds of 66-68-69-64 for a 267 total beat Faldo by two shots with Bernhard Langer in third place.

Courtesy: www.opengolf.com/championshipgolf

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As a touring professional, Greg Norman was one of the most prolific international players in the games history. In addition to being the number one ranked player for 331 consecutive weeks, Greg Norman maintained active membership of the US, European and Australasian Tours. Norman's experience in playing many of the world's great golf courses over the span of his 25-year career served as a catalyst to develop his interest in golf course design.

First established in 1987, Greg Norman Golf Course Design has completed more than 70 golf courses on six continents. Norman's golf courses have garnered numerous prestigious awards for design, with many of the projects being awarded the coveted Audubon Society Award for environmental stewardship.

Norman designed golf courses have hosted sanctioned events on the PGA, Nationwide, European, and Australasian Tours. Given the breadth of Greg Norman's business interests, he is uniquely qualified and experienced to provide a special blend of land planning, design and construction to help deliver the best possible result.

Courtesy: www.gngcd.com/about_us.php