On This Day

On This Day: ‘The Shark’ anihilates the competition

The amphibious Aussie broke new ground to win golf’s ‘fifth major’.

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allsprt.com

Greg Norman posts 72-hole record to win the 1994 Players Championship

March 27, 1994 - TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Verde Beach, Florida

While Greg Norman more than earned his reputation for letting the moment slip conspicuously, the golfer known as 'The Shark' must also be remembered for being one of the world's leading golfers of the 1980s and 1990s.

Sure, when the Queenslander choked, it was often on the grandest stage with the most gleaming - and verdant - prizes on offer, but when he won, it was more often than in a sprint.

In professional golf, there are four majors: The PGA Championship, The US Open, The Open Championship and The Masters. But while this quartet of storied events sits at the game's summit, The Player's Championship has earned its title as the unofficial fifth major.

During the 1994 iteration of the Florida-based event, Norman jumped out of the gates quickly and only maintained his pace, finishing his first round at -9 having posted a 63.

Over the next pair of days, 'The Shark' remained out for blood, scoring back-to-back 67s to see him sit atop the leaderboard at -19, a cool four shots ahead of American Fuzzy Zoeller.

And it was here that the pugnacious Aussie stayed, posting a third successive 67 to claim honours on the Sunday and submitting the lowest four-round score in Player's Championship history.

For his efforts, Norman made off with nearly half a million dollars in prizemoney, however, his late-March form that year failed to translate into early April, with the Australian failing to crack a top-10 finish at Augusta, despite sitting in equal second position after the second round.

Norman's Georgian nightmares would continue in 1996 when he entered the final round of The Masters with a six-stroke lead over Nick Faldo, only to relinquish his grip on the Green Jacket after scoring a final round 78.

But that is a tale of woe for another day.

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