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<\/p>\nMemories of \u2018The Shark\u2019 Greg Norman drowning his green jacket hopes in Augusta National\u2019s creeks still makes many Australians sick in the stomach. <\/p>\n
This week\u2019s Masters marks 30 years since arguably the greatest collapse in Australian sporting history \u2014 and it\u2019s one that still fuels a grudge that could last a lifetime. <\/p>\n
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Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n The 1996 edition of The Masters was supposed to be Norman\u2019s crowning moment. <\/p>\n He raced out of the blocks with a course record-tying opening round 63. <\/p>\n He reached the weekend at 12-under par and extended his lead over Nick Faldo from four shots to six by the end of the third round. <\/p>\n With the cushion of that sizeable buffer, the world No.1 was finally meant to secure the green jacket that had eluded him. <\/p>\n But what happened on Sunday 14 April 1996 was something that even Hollywood\u2019s most twisted script writers could not have imagined. <\/p>\n Norman himself described it as \u201c24 hours of absolute misery\u201d on ESPN\u2019s 30 for 30 documentary \u2013 which is available to watch on Kayo. <\/p>\n While award-winning sports broadcaster Jimmy Roberts summed up the occasion by saying: \u201cWhat was supposed to be a coronation ends up being a funeral march.\u201d<\/p>\n Greg Norman reacts to a bad tee shot on the fourth hole during final round of the 1996 Masters.Source: AP<\/p>\n Part of the fascination with Augusta every April is how brutal the famous course can be. <\/p>\n While it is where dreams become reality, it is also where many of them have been crushed in the most agonising fashion. <\/p>\n This century Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth are two of golf\u2019s biggest names to have collapsed under the weight of pressure that comes on the back nine on Masters Sunday. <\/p>\n But neither meltdown is as gut-wrenching as Norman\u2019s because after McIlroy\u2019s triumph last year, both men get to attend the annual Champion\u2019s Dinner. <\/p>\n The Australian never got his redemption story. <\/p>\n Adam Scott banished the nation\u2019s Augusta demons in 2013. <\/p>\n Fox Golf expert analyst Paul Gow believes Scott\u2019s birdie putt in the rain at the second playoff hole is \u201cthe one that\u2019s healed us\u201d. <\/p>\n But Norman\u2019s implosion is still what springs to mind first when many Australians think of The Masters. <\/p>\n For the scars of Nick Faldo winning his third green jacket still run deep. <\/p>\n \u201cI think Augusta has the most famous losses in all of major championship golf history,\u201d former professional turned commentator Brandel Chamblee said. <\/p>\n \u201cBut there is no loss that comes close in terms of heartache to the 1996 Masters,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/p>\n \ufeff\u2018That\u2019s probably why…\u2019: Emotional Aussie\u2019s fascinating insight into Tiger\u2019s battles \u2014 Masters Daily<\/a><\/p>\n McIlroy\u2019s \u2018pinch-me moment\u2019 in Masters triumph that broke 10-year title drought<\/a><\/p>\n Prodigy\u2019s Masters choke couldn\u2019t have been more brutal… until a live punch-drunk moment<\/a><\/p>\n Greg Norman walks across the bridge on number 12 during the 1996 Masters.Source: AP<\/p>\n \u2018BAD KARMA\u2019<\/p>\n Norman flirted with danger well before he missed a short putt for par on the first hole of the final round. <\/p>\n The Australian was one of the most popular sports people on the planet at the time, but he was already well-known for his losses more than his wins. <\/p>\n The then 41-year-old has come agonisingly close at The Masters twice before. <\/p>\n Norman watched in horror as Larry Mize chipped in on the second playoff hole to deny him a green jacket in 1987. <\/p>\n A year earlier, Norman held the lead heading into the final round but a wayward iron from the middle of the fairway at the last ensured victory for Jack Nicklaus. <\/p>\n It was the first leg of what was dubbed \u2018the Saturday slam\u2019 as Norman led all four majors after 54 holes in 1986 but only came away with the Claret Jug to show for his efforts. <\/p>\n Among many in the golf community, Norman developed a reputation as a choker. <\/p>\n It was a moniker to which he took offence, even clashing with spectators who yelled it out at tournaments. <\/p>\n There were others who believed he was simply unlucky. <\/p>\n Scott relaxed ahead of 25th Masters | 03:02<\/p>\n Bob Tway holed out from a bunker to beat him at the PGA Championship in 1986. <\/p>\n Three years later, he lost The Open to Mark Calcavecchia in a playoff. <\/p>\n The counter argument to Norman being unlucky, however, was that he had a habit of shooting over-par final rounds to open the door for his rivals. <\/p>\n Given his history, most people would have advised the Australian to not tempt fate before the final round. <\/p>\n But with the green jacket almost so close that he could feel the wool, the nerves got the better of him. <\/p>\n The trigger for a sleepless Saturday night was a passing remark from a veteran British journalist as he left the clubhouse. <\/p>\n Sitting at the bar, Peter Dobereiner called out: \u201cNot even you could f*** this up.\u201d<\/p>\n Greg Norman hits from 17th fairway during first round play of 1996 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, 11\/04\/96. Golf A\/CTSource: AP<\/p>\n The comment did not stop ringing in Norman\u2019s ears and his thoughts quickly spiralled out of control. <\/p>\n When his then wife Laura tried to get ahead of the game in organising the Sunday night celebrations, full blown panic set in. <\/p>\n \u201cRight after that, when I got back to the house, I found that my plane went south to pick up people to be there for a party that had already been organised,\u201d Norman recalled. <\/p>\n \u201cSo, that kind of jolted me a little bit. Just bad karma.\u201d <\/p>\n After a restless night, Norman began Masters Sunday by working the phones. <\/p>\n He had been upset by comments made by famous instructor Peter Kostis, who mentored the likes of Bernard Langer and Australian major champion Steve Elkington and worked for CBS at the time. <\/p>\n Kostis sounded a warning bell. <\/p>\n He said after the third round that he spotted flaws in Norman\u2019s swing. <\/p>\n Kostis thought the conversation was off the record, but it was broadcast on television by Golf Channel correspondent Brain Hammons. <\/p>\n LIV vs. PGA set to unravel at Masters | 01:26<\/p>\n Norman called CBS producer and director Frank Chirkinian to vent his anger with Kostis\u2019 comments. <\/p>\n When Chirkinian called Kostis in to ask if he said Norman will choke, Kostis clarified that he never said choke. <\/p>\n But stressed that \u201cif he is calling you to complain about me on the morning of perhaps the biggest day of his golfing life, he\u2019s in more trouble than I thought\u201d. <\/p>\n Kostis\u2019 words, of course, came true and those close to Norman could see the downward spiral beginning before he headed to the first tee. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Greg Norman that left the course on Saturday night was not the same Greg Norman that showed up on Sunday,\u201d legendary swing coach Butch Harmon, who also worked with legends Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els, said. <\/p>\n \u201cHe was edgy with us on the practice tee, and he was edgy with himself. <\/p>\n \u201cYou could just see it.\u201d<\/p>\n \ufeffGet all the latest golf news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n Police release Woods bodycam footage | 00:39<\/p>\n THE \u2018OH NO\u2019 MOMENT<\/p>\n There were several moments that spelled doom for Norman. <\/p>\n Some believed it was when Faldo got up-and-down from the back of the 18th green to end the third round and ensure the pairing remained together for the final stanza. <\/p>\n If the Englishman had two-putted there, a 25-year-old Phil Mickelson would have joined Norman in the last group. <\/p>\n The up-and-coming leftie would have cut a far less daunting figure than Faldo. <\/p>\n With his killer instinct and his intimidating \u201c100-yard Liam Neeson stare\u201d – as famed broadcaster Scott van Pelt put in \u2013 Norman and fellow Australian major champion Ian Baker-Finch said Faldo was the worst possible pairing for \u2018The Shark\u2019. <\/p>\n \u201cWe never had any sort of relationship. We were chalk and cheese. He was a loner, I couldn\u2019t be like him,\u201d Norman told The Telegraph<\/a> in a recent interview.<\/p>\n The nerves were evident early in the round. <\/p>\n In addition to his opening hole bogey, Norman was taking 10-15 seconds longer over the ball than he had in previous days. <\/p>\n But it was not until they reached the turn, that things truly unravelled.<\/p>\n Greg Norman & Nick Faldo get ready to tee off on first hole for their final round of 1996 Masters.Source: News Limited<\/p>\n With a big false front that painstakingly rolls balls to the bottom of a valley, every golfer knows that they must go long with their approach into the ninth green at Augusta National. <\/p>\n Norman did exactly what he was not meant to do. <\/p>\n The blunder drew Faldo within three shots of him halfway through the round, and the Australian believes that mis-hit wedge was his \u2018oh no\u2019 moment. <\/p>\n \u201cThat was it. Right there I knew I was in trouble,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Two holes later, Norman and Faldo were tied for the lead as their rounds went in opposite directions. <\/p>\n At Amen Corner\u2019s famous par 3 12th, Norman once again came up short. <\/p>\n His ball trickled down the hill and cruelly came to rest just inside Rae\u2019s Creek. <\/p>\n The ball was basically teasing him as it was clearly visible on the edge of the water and could be easily picked up without getting your feet wet. <\/p>\n A double bogey was the result, but that cruel moment was not what would become the defining image of Norman\u2019s disaster.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/p>\n One image caused a stir in the golf world. It exposed a glaring problem that must be fixed<\/a><\/p>\n \ufeff\u2018Stop pretending\u2019: Legend\u2019s anger at \u2018weak\u2019 response to Tiger\u2019s car crash scandal<\/a><\/p>\n