It\u2019s been 30 years since Greg Norman\u2019s final round collapse at the 1996 Masters, and the two key players from that fateful day couldn\u2019t have drifted further apart.<\/p>\n
Etched into the memories of sports fans is the final-round meltdown, which saw Norman\u2019s six-shot lead evaporate in a torturous round of golf at Augusta National.<\/p>\n
Norman won The Open Championship twice in 1986 and 1993, but he is best known for his near misses at Augusta and being arguably the greatest golfer never to win a green jacket.<\/p>\n
Golf fans can still recall Larry Mize\u2019s impossible chip-in to beat Norman at the 1987 Masters, as well as Bob Tway\u2019s bunker shot at the 1986 PGA Championship, plus several others. Norman was also in contention at the 1986 and 1999 Masters, but it simply wasn\u2019t to be.<\/p>\n
His Masters collapse in 1996 will go down in history. Thirty years on, Norman and Faldo have reflected on the final round that changed both their legacies forever.<\/p>\n
For Faldo, his 2-iron approach shot at the 13th hole has gone down in golf folklore as one of the most clutch shots ever, after he spent minutes agonizing over which club to use to clear the water.<\/p>\n
Nick Faldo (left) and Greg Norman embrace after the final round of the 1996 Masters. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
The five-shot victory was a crowning glory for Faldo, who shared a touching embrace with Norman on the 18th green and whispered in his ear: \u201cDon\u2019t let the bastards get you down\u201d.<\/p>\n
Faldo, one of just three golfers to be knighted, is now reliving his 1996 Masters win, but Norman has teed off at the Brit over criticism directed at LIV Golf, which Norman helped establish before stepping away last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cSport is bloody tough. The fear of failure is just as powerful as the quest to win. And I think when you\u2019re on a fail-free tour, you can\u2019t fail,\u201d Faldo said of LIV\u2019s 54-hole format that has since expanded to 72-hole tournaments.<\/p>\n
Greg Norman collapsed in the final round at Augusta. Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes you go soft. I think some of those players have gone soft. They\u2019re the luckiest golfers in the world because you\u2019ve got half the field you haven\u2019t heard of playing in a $25 million tournament each week. You\u2019ve got the middle ranking guys who are either injured or about to retire, earning 10 times more than what they could\u2019ve earned on tour with the same golf.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen, you\u2019ve got half a dozen superstars being paid a fortune and haven\u2019t moved the needle, and the other golfers are locked out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those comments didn\u2019t go down well at all with Norman.<\/p>\n