British Open: Ranking the 25 most dominant performances of all time
By Bill Felber
24. Greg Norman, 1993, -2.78
“He was invincible,” Bernhard Langer said of Greg Norman’s performance at Royal St. George’s. Gene Sarazen, the 91 year-old golf immortal who watched as a spectator, added historical perspective. “Today I saw the greatest championship in all my 70 years of golf,” Sarazen remarked.
Norman shot a final round 64 to win the championship by two strokes over Nick Faldo, with Langer one additional stroke behind. As a group, it was one of the strongest fields ever assembled: 11 of the top 12 finishers and 15 of the top 20 either had or soon would win a major championship.
Those chasing Norman included the defending champions of the Masters (Langer, who finished third), British Open (Faldo, the runner-up) and PGA (Nick Price, tied for sixth).
Norman trailed Faldo and Corey Pavin by one shot through three rounds. But he commanded play on Sunday. A 9-iron to within six inches capped a front nine of 31, and birdies on the 12th, 14th and 16th led to the 64. It was the lowest final round ever shot by a champion. His four-round total of 267 erased the record set by Tom Watson at Turnberry in 1977.
Even Norman marveled at how efficiently he had played. “I never mis-hit a shot. It was like playing a game of chess.”