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Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about Greg Norman

Greg Norman by Great White Shark Enterprises from

Greg Norman holds the record for earning the most money in professional golf. He was the first golfer to win $10 million, and he held the top spot four times between 1986 and 1990. In 1986 and 1993, he captured the British Open. During the 1981 Masters event, Norman earned the moniker “Great White Shark” and enjoys huge public and media support.

1. Why is he known as the Great White Shark?

Shark head by Elliot from

Norman’s nickname is “The Great White Shark” (commonly abbreviated to “The Shark”), which he acquired following his performance at the 1981 Masters and alludes to his blond hair, stature, aggressive golfing style, and the local coastal animal of his homeland.

2. Throughout his playing career, Norman developed his commercial interests

He serves as the chairman and chief executive officer of the Greg Norman Company, a multinational conglomerate with a portfolio of businesses in industries including fashion, interior design, real estate, wine production, private equity, and golf course design.

He was appointed CEO of LIV Golf Investments in 2021, a startup funded by the state wealth fund of Saudi Arabia that aims to compete with the PGA Tour.

3. Norman’s early life

Greg Norman by doug small from

His father was an electrical engineer, while his mother was the granddaughter of a Finnish carpenter. He was a young rugby and cricket player who wanted to be a pro surfer.  At the Virginia Golf Club in Brisbane, Norman, then 15 years old, was permitted to caddy for his mother Toini, who had a single-figure handicap. 

Norman improved from a 27 handicap to a scratch handicap in roughly eighteen months. Norman studied at Townsville Central State School in Townsville, Queensland (entered in 1964), Townsville Grammar School, and Aspley State High School on the north side of Brisbane.  At the Queensland Open in June 1974, Norman, then 19 years old, attracted media attention. 

4. He played rugby 

Greg Norman by Jonas de Carvalho from

Norman, an avid cricket, rugby, and surfer, started playing golf at the age of 15 and became a scratch player within 18 months. He competed at the Queensland Open when he was just 19 years old.

5. Norman’s early progress was quite rapid

Greg Norman by David Dixon from

He started out as a club assistant pro in 1975, claimed his first Australian victory in 1976, and won the Martini International on the European Tour in 1977. He would triumph in that competition once more in 1979 before kicking off the 1980s in spectacular fashion.

He gained the Scandinavian Open with a course record in 1980, won the Open de France by ten strokes, and completed the year by winning the Suntory World Championship.

He won five more times over the course of the following two years, took first place in the Order of Merit in 1982, and placed in the top five three times in Majors. Time to make the Atlantic crossing.

6. Unwavering PGA Tour success

In 1983, he lost a play-off at Bay Hill, but it didn’t take him long to succeed there. In 1984, he won twice, and in 1986, he won four times.

It was the start of nearly two decades of incredible success. Along with his 14 victories on the European Tour, he would also win 20 times on the PGA Tour during that time, bringing his overall victory total to 88. He was the first guy to be at the top of the Official World Rankings (in 1986), and he held that position for 331 consecutive weeks.

7. The Saturday Slam

When he sank a 45-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole of the 1984 US Open to force a play-off with Fuzzy Zoeller, he made headlines for the first time at a Major. However, by shooting 75 to his opponent’s 67, he started a pattern for himself in the Majors: glory, brilliance, but also golfing tragi-comedy.

His most successful and devastating year was 1986. In addition to his 11 victories throughout the globe, he also accomplished his own “Saturday Slam” by holding the lead after 54 holes in all four Majors. He failed to force a playoff at the Masters because he made double bogey on the tenth hole and missed a par putt on the last green.

A holed bunker shot by Bob Tway on the final hole of the PGA Championship—where the two were tied at the top of the leaderboard—was the real poison to his heart. In the US Open, he faltered with a Sunday 75 to fall six strokes behind the victor. Only at the Open did he claim the win, doing so with great golf in brutal conditions at Turnberry.

8. Setbacks and successes 

The victories from all over the world kept coming, but the challenges in the major competitions also increased. He advanced to the play-off in the 1987 Masters but lost to Larry Mize’s spectacular birdie, and in the extra holes of the 1989 Open, he put himself in danger by hitting bunkers when he should have been winning.

He and Nick Faldo were tied after 36 holes at the 1990 Open, and the third round was advertised as a fantastic battle of styles between the Englishman’s grit and the Australian’s flamboyance. Faldo won after shooting a 67 to Norman’s 75.

Early in the 1990s, he had trouble maintaining his form, but he recovered to beat Faldo in the 1993 Open.

9. 1996 masters

Tenby Golf Course by David Dixon from

The 1996 Masters may not have characterized Norman more than any other occasion. He played 54 holes and was astonishingly excellent. He started out by shooting a course-record-tying 63, and with 18 holes remaining, he had a six-stroke lead.

A journalist Norman ran into on Saturday night remarked: “Not even you can screw this up.” Norman came out swinging quicker and walked slower the next morning when playing with his old enemy Faldo. His 78 together with Faldo’s 67 transformed that six-shot advantage into a five-shot loss. The battle was concluded with the two guys holding each other.

10. Personal life 

Norman family by Great White Shark Enterprises from

In 1981, he wed his first wife, Laura. Morgan-Leigh and Greg Junior are their two children. After their divorce in 2006, Norman married tennis great Chris Evert, but that union also broke apart. In 2010, he tied the knot with Kirsten Kutner for the third time.