Tuesday at the Masters: Greg Norman returns

After Jack Nicklaus and before Tiger Woods, there was Greg Norman.

The Shark was the most-magnetic figure in pro golf in the last half of the 1980s and first half of the 1990s. His run pretty much ended on a Sunday at Augusta in 1996.

In one of sports' most-famous meltdowns, Norman shot a final-round 78, losing his six-shot third-round lead and the Masters to Nick Faldo.

Norman had seven Top Five finishes, but he never got to wear a green jacket. His Augusta woes began a decade before the '96 collapse, when Larry Mize holed a 140-chip shot to beat Norman in a playoff at the '87 Masters.

At 55, the Shark is back at Augusta after a 7-year absence. He qualified for his berth here by tying for third at last year's British Open in a magnificent performance.

Tuesday, Norman said he has a lot of people wanting him to play well this week.

"When I used to come in here in the '80s and '90s," Norman said, "and you expected to do well, people were pulling for you and other people were not pulling for you, too. Now it seems everyone is pulling for me, which is nice.

"Even the players, the players are 'Hey, play well, play well, play well.' I know in the '80s, they were not coing up to me and saying 'Hey Greg, play well.' That's for sure."

But being 55 has its realities. He was asked Tuesday if he felt rejuvenated.

"I don't feel rejuvenated when they out-drive me by 45 yards," said Norman. "Back in my days, I was out-driving the older players by 45 yards."

I saw a lot of players on Augusta's putting green Tuesday, and few interacted with the fans as much as Norman. Few smiled as much, either.

"I'm just going to go out there and go the opposite of what I used to do," Norman said, "just go out there and have fun.

"I tried to go and have fun, but sometimes it didn't work that way. But this time I'm definitely going to go out and have fun and see what happens."