The Masters Interview: Greg Norman

You qualified for the Masters 12 months ago after finishing in the top five at the Open Championship the year before. How did the course setup compare to when you played during the Eighties and Nineties?

I was shocked at first. It was 420 yards longer than when I played it and it played even longer because of the soft conditions early on in the tournament. Everyone hears about the changes but you don’t really see them on television. But they were phenomenal changes, right from the very first hole. The tee now is back where the old putting green was when I last played there. So the thought of driving it over the bunker on the first hole is gone. That hole alone plays 50 yards longer than it did. The seventh hole has changed a lot, the eleventh hole has seen dramatic change. It’s different. It’s a hard golf course for those who don’t drive the ball 320 yards. But it’s still a phenomenal course. A great course.

You’re not in the field this year but do you ever get back to Augusta?

I go back there and play with member friends of mine. I’m lucky like that. I can sneak up there for a weekend and have a good time and no-one knows about it. It’s a great spot. I’ve been a stanch proponent and supporter of the structure of the Masters. A lot of people look at it like it’s a dictatorship. But you know what? They have every right to be that way. They can do it. They have created something. They have invested in the future of golf, with events like the Asian Amateur Championship, so kudos to them. I think [chairman] Billy Payne has done a phenomenal job. He was part of the International Olympic Committee and knows what it takes to grow sport on a global basis. He’s taken that into the Masters, and all of a sudden Augusta has a difference sense about it.

What is your favourite Masters moment?

Probably shooting 30 on the front nine. Everybody said the front nine was the hardest nine at Augusta and the back nine was the moving nine. I believe when I shot 30 on the front nine, that really put me back into contention. I can’t remember what year it was, but I remember at one point going down 7 and 8, I thought about the fact that I could shoot 29 on the front nine. That was the number in my mind at the time.