Legendary caddie Steve Williams has revealed the simple change that he says cost Greg Norman victory at the tournament he most wanted to win – The Masters.
Norman famously came close at Augusta on a number of occasions, bogeying the final hole in 1986 to finish one shot behind Jack Nicklaus, and beaten by a miracle chip-in from Larry Mize the following year.
In 1996 he held a six shot lead heading into the final round, only to shoot a horror 78 and finish five behind Nick Faldo.
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Williams, who caddied for Norman in the 1980s, has shared his story with golf journalist Evin Priest in a 13-part podcast called Chasing Majors, focusing on his 12-year partnership with Tiger Woods.
When discussing Woods’ change to the Nike Tour Accuracy ball in 2000, which had been specifically developed for the 15-time major champion, Williams noted that the new ball was worth “one or two shots a round” due to the confidence it gave Woods as he stood over each shot.
But the caddie says a similar change by Norman cost him dearly.
“I can give you the complete opposite of that,” Williams said.
“Tiger went to that Nike ball and it absolutely suited him. Way back in the 80s, Greg Norman played Spalding, and he went to the Tour Edition ball and he was obviously paid a lot of money to play Spalding.
“He was (then) paid a lot of money to go to this new ball and that was so detrimental to his career; it was the worst thing he ever did.”
Williams added that the move to the Tour Edition ball really hurt Norman at the famed Augusta National course.
“That would have cost him two shots a round,” Williams explained.
“If he had played a different ball at Augusta, he would have won the tournament (Masters) I have absolutely no qualms in saying that. (The ball) was famous because it spun more than any other golf ball – he liked that – but it spun too much (for Augusta National).
“That’s the exact opposite of what Tiger did (in 2000).”
Woods’ 2000 season is regarded as the best of all time. Having changed balls in the middle of the year, he went on to win the US Open by 15 shots, the British Open by eight shots, and the US PGA in a playoff. He added the 2001 Masters title to complete the Tiger-slam, holding all four majors at once.
Norman finished in the top five on eight separate occasions at The Masters, but never pulled on the famous green jacket, while Williams was on the bag for Adam Scott when he became the first Australian to win the tournament in 2013.
Chasing Majors is hosted by golf journalist Evin Priest. The first series is co-hosted by Steve Williams, covering the 13 major titles he won with Tiger Woods. The first two episodes are available now via Spotify or Apple.
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