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The ‘repeated flaw’ in Greg Norman’s game that Nicklaus told him about before Shark’s first major win

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As part of its 30th anniversary, ESPN is running a series of shows looking back at some of the most notable sports happenings that occurred from 1979 to 2009.

For golf fans of that era, one of the biggest talking points was surely Greg Norman’s seemingly continual inability to get it done during the 1986 major championships. After all, the Australian had already lost 54-hole leads at the Masters and U.S Open, when a 72nd hole bogey and a poor final round had respectively cost him the titles that his play through the season had richly deserved.

Coming a couple of years after losing a play-off at the U.S Open at Winged Foot, things were not stacking up well for a player that spent 331 weeks as the world number one. As he again led through three rounds, this time at The Open Championship at Turnberry, the omens were not in his favour.

Having admitted that he was nervous about going into the ultimate day, he walked into the clubhouse to be approached by 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus, at the time eating lunch with Tom Watson, himself an eight-time major winner.

Nicklaus tells the documentary, “I walked over to him and sat down, and I told him: ‘You know, I’ve watched you in the last couple of majors where you didn’t quite get it done, and I’ve seen a flaw repeated.”

The three-time Open champion had spotted that Norman was gripping the club too tight under pressure. This was causing Norman’s ordinarily long, loose and powerful golf swing to become shorter and tighter under pressure, which would cause him to hit wayward shots.

Norman tells that the advice was fairly simple:

“He put his hand on my shoulder: ‘Just focus on your grip pressure tomorrow, that’s it,” revealed Norman.

Lunch companion Watson summed it up: “It was typical Jack, keeping it simple – keep your hands lightly on the club, and just play golf.”

It seemed to do the trick. Norman shot a one-under 69 in his final round to win the first of his two majors by five shots.

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19th Hole

“Is it a Titleist?” – Jerry Seinfeld shares never-before-heard details of iconic scene

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On Thursday, legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld joined the Rich Eisen Show and shared an awesome story from a “Seinfeld” episode titled “The Marine Biologist.”

In the episode, a golf ball goes into the blow hole of a whale. According to Seinfeld, that was never in the episode’s script.

Seinfeld recalls saying the night before the filming of the episode, “What if what puts the whale in distress is Kramer’s golf ball?”

“He’s hitting golf balls at the beach. George is at the beach with a girl, we haven’t connected them!”

“We write that speech the night before at two o’clock in the morning…The sea was angry that day my friend.”

 

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A post shared by Rich Eisen (@richeisen)


Kramer finishes the iconic scene by asking “Is it a Titleist?” Seinfeld told Eisen the show sought Titleist’s permission to mention its name, saying the ball had to be a Titleist. Fortunately for lovers of the iconic show, the company agreed.

If (somehow) you’re unfamiliar with the scene, check it out below.

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Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game ‘on a much more global basis’

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While speaking with Bloomberg, golf legend Phil Mickelson acknowledged that he is inching close towards retirement.

“I’m 53 now,” Phil said, “and my career, you know, it’s — if I’m being truthful, it’s on — it’s — it’s — I’m a — it’s towards its end.”

Mickelson added that one of his focuses now is helping other young players.

“Now, I would like to help others find the same enjoyment and fulfillment that the game has provided me. I’d like them to experience that as well.”

The six-time major champion credited LIV with reaching new markets in golf to help it grow.

“I think that’s exciting for everyone involved in the game because we are going to reach markets that we didn’t reach before. I think it’s going to inspire more golf courses, inspire more manufacturers selling clubs and equipment, but also inspiring young kids to try to play golf professionally. I just see that the game of golf is going to grow on a much more global basis because of the excitement and the presence that LIV Golf has.”

Mickelson is playing at this week’s LIV Singapore and shot a first round 72 (+1).

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Tiger explains why golf has ‘negative connotations’ for daughter Sam

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While Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, has certainly inherited his father’s love for golf, his daughter, Sam, has not.

On Wednesday, Tiger made an appearance on The Today Show with Carson Daly and explained his daughter’s relationship with golf.

“Golf has negative connotations for her. When she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her. I had to pack, I had to leave, and I was gone for weeks. So, there were negative connotations to it.

“We developed our own relationship and our own rapport outside of golf. We do things that doesn’t involve golf. Meanwhile, my son and I, everything we do is golf related.”

The nine-minute interview touches on plenty of other subjects, such as Tiger’s relationship with his late father, Earl.

It’s arguably the most open we’ve seen the 15-time major champion in an interview and is most definitely worth watching.

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