University of Arizona student Brenna Cepelak had become public the previous autumn. He had received the full tabloid treatment, which meant he was even more wary than usual when appearing at his press conference at 9.30 a.m. on Tuesday. Dan Yates, the brother of former British Amateur champion Charlie Yates and the Augusta member who was moderating the interview, opened up in typical fashion by saying: ‘Okay, Nick, if you’ll say what’s on your mind and then they’ll have a go at you.’
‘That’s the problem,’ Faldo responded. ‘Fire away.’ As a player in his prime, as opposed to once he went to the commentary box, Faldo was never exactly expansive in a Normanesque fashion with a microphone in front of him. But there were a few lines of note, including the news that the shoulder that bothered him when he missed the cut at the Players Championship was now fine. ‘It was just tight for a few days and then got progressively better,’ he reported. ‘I feel I’ve been playing nicely the last coupleof months and just sort of waiting for something to happen; or waiting for this week, one or the other. I’m quite happy with most of my game.’
When asked about Norman missing his last two cuts in a row, Faldo was ready with a quip. ‘Write him off quick,’ he said. ‘I think that’s the end of him, really. He’s gone.’
On whether his desire was as strong as ever, Faldo said: ‘Oh, yeah. My desire’s always the same with the majors. Gosh, we’ve been thinking about them, you know, planning for this for six months since the PGA. You start thinking and working out your game plan and everything. So you’re certainly conscious of the majors. They’re the most important ones. That’s what I’m aiming for, so I’ve still got the desire for them.’
On any changes to the Augusta National course: ‘Everything’s been really similar here for the last five or six years. It’s the same set-up. The course just gets better and better. The condition is incredible.’ In fact, there was one change. Since 1989 the tributary of Rae’s Creek that runs in front of the 13th green had a high water level, meaning attempts at recovery shots like Curtis Strange’s in the final round in 1985 were not possible. The water level had now been reduced to again expose more of the banks and rocks in the stream.
Finally, Faldo was asked whether the Masters was the severest test in golf? ‘Yeah, I think so,’ he said. ‘It becomes the feel factor. You can’t just blast in and miss a green and get up and down. You can’t do that here. If you’re nervous and under pressure, you’ve still got to hit great shots all the time. You’ve got to keep the ball in the right position. If you don’t, you’ve got to have the touch to get up and down or whatever. That’s where it ends up a hard test.’
The final round of the 1996 Masters was already proving a hard test for Norman. He kept getting out of position and though his short game had saved him at the 2nd hole, it had not at the 1st. But it had been his short game that had won him his last tournament, the Doral-Ryder Open just over a month earlier. He took only 101 putts for the week and got up and down whenever required but his work on and around the greens covered up some sloppy play elsewhere.
Partly this was down to a driver whose face caved in when he went out to complete the last few holes of his third round on Sunday morning. It needed replacing so his wife Laura hopped on a helicopter with a spare and flew from their home in Jupiter Island down to Miami in time for the final round. Norman also took the time between rounds to have his first session with Harmon since the previous August. ‘Things tend to drift away over a period of time when you haven’t seen your coach,’ he said. ‘There are a couple of little faults I’ve got back in my game.’
Overall, Norman was pleased. ‘I didn’t hit the ball as crisply as I’d like but winning when you are not
‘That’s the problem,’ Faldo responded. ‘Fire away.’ As a player in his prime, as opposed to once he went to the commentary box, Faldo was never exactly expansive in a Normanesque fashion with a microphone in front of him. But there were a few lines of note, including the news that the shoulder that bothered him when he missed the cut at the Players Championship was now fine. ‘It was just tight for a few days and then got progressively better,’ he reported. ‘I feel I’ve been playing nicely the last coupleof months and just sort of waiting for something to happen; or waiting for this week, one or the other. I’m quite happy with most of my game.’
When asked about Norman missing his last two cuts in a row, Faldo was ready with a quip. ‘Write him off quick,’ he said. ‘I think that’s the end of him, really. He’s gone.’
On whether his desire was as strong as ever, Faldo said: ‘Oh, yeah. My desire’s always the same with the majors. Gosh, we’ve been thinking about them, you know, planning for this for six months since the PGA. You start thinking and working out your game plan and everything. So you’re certainly conscious of the majors. They’re the most important ones. That’s what I’m aiming for, so I’ve still got the desire for them.’
On any changes to the Augusta National course: ‘Everything’s been really similar here for the last five or six years. It’s the same set-up. The course just gets better and better. The condition is incredible.’ In fact, there was one change. Since 1989 the tributary of Rae’s Creek that runs in front of the 13th green had a high water level, meaning attempts at recovery shots like Curtis Strange’s in the final round in 1985 were not possible. The water level had now been reduced to again expose more of the banks and rocks in the stream.
Finally, Faldo was asked whether the Masters was the severest test in golf? ‘Yeah, I think so,’ he said. ‘It becomes the feel factor. You can’t just blast in and miss a green and get up and down. You can’t do that here. If you’re nervous and under pressure, you’ve still got to hit great shots all the time. You’ve got to keep the ball in the right position. If you don’t, you’ve got to have the touch to get up and down or whatever. That’s where it ends up a hard test.’
The final round of the 1996 Masters was already proving a hard test for Norman. He kept getting out of position and though his short game had saved him at the 2nd hole, it had not at the 1st. But it had been his short game that had won him his last tournament, the Doral-Ryder Open just over a month earlier. He took only 101 putts for the week and got up and down whenever required but his work on and around the greens covered up some sloppy play elsewhere.
Partly this was down to a driver whose face caved in when he went out to complete the last few holes of his third round on Sunday morning. It needed replacing so his wife Laura hopped on a helicopter with a spare and flew from their home in Jupiter Island down to Miami in time for the final round. Norman also took the time between rounds to have his first session with Harmon since the previous August. ‘Things tend to drift away over a period of time when you haven’t seen your coach,’ he said. ‘There are a couple of little faults I’ve got back in my game.’
Overall, Norman was pleased. ‘I didn’t hit the ball as crisply as I’d like but winning when you are not
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