Friday 15 April 2016 08:44, UK
Legendary caddie Fanny Sunesson has been reflecting on Nick Faldo's monumental Masters victory over Greg Norman at Augusta 20 years ago, and she admits the euphoria of winning was tinged with sadness for the Australian.
Faldo turned a six-shot deficit into a five-stroke triumph on the final day, but Sunesson feels the six-time major champion has never been given the credit he deserves for firing the day's-best round of 67, with too much of the focus being on Norman's collapse.
Sunesson, who called time on her 25 years as a caddie in 2012, now divides her time between coaching and working as a commentator and analyst for Swedish television, and Skysports.com caught up with her at Augusta last week.
Recalling that famous Sunday 20 years ago, Sunesson revealed that she felt confident of victory throughout the final day, although they avoided setting a target score before the last pair teed off.
"No, I never used to think that way, it's so difficult to set targets like that," said Sunesson. "I just knew we needed to have a great round, but we also knew that if Greg had a great round, there was no way we could do it.
"Nick trimmed the lead to five when Greg bogeyed the first hole and both of them birdied the second, but I had a sense the whole way round that something special could happen. The start wasn't something I was focusing on at the time, but I was always confident we had a chance."
Faldo birdied the sixth and eighth, and Norman's lead was down to two at the turn when he made a big mistake in coming up short with his approach to the ninth which led to his third bogey of the outward nine.
"I think the ninth was very important," Sunesson added. "It was not a good hole for Greg and Nick made a really good par there. Greg under-hit his pitch and his ball spun back off the front, and he made another bogey which meant we were only two behind at the turn.
"Nick was playing fantastic and people forget that," she said before reflecting on one of the best shots hit at the Masters - Faldo's second to the 13th that set up a vital two-putt birdie, which Norman matched despite being forced to lay up after blocking his drive.
Team Faldo suddenly found themselves leading the Masters by two shots when Norman bogeyed 10 and 11 and then found water off the tee at the 12th as he ran up a five, and the crucial events on the final hole of Amen Corner had a huge impact on the final outcome.
Faldo switched from a five-wood to a two-iron and hit the heart of the green, and Sunesson said: "The 13th was a fantastic moment, and it was amazing that Nick was able to focus so well when you're in between clubs like that - when you decide on one and have to change.
"But he really went for it and that can be tough to do when you're unsure. That was probably his best shot of the round. Obviously there was a lot of pressure, and he had a tough hanging lie.
"Even though we were now two shots ahead, we didn't really change our mindset. We had a game plan, and to be honest, I wasn't thinking too much about the result until it was all over. We kept going for it and the way the course was set up that day, we couldn't really do much else.
"There were no bail-out areas and the greens were like table-tops. If you did try to bail out, if was so tough to get up and down for pars. We kept to our plan and Nick carried on playing fantastic golf."
Norman was agonisingly close to chipping in for eagle at the 15th, but he made another critical error at the short 16th when he pulled his tee-shot into the lake - the resulting double-bogey leaving him four behind with two to play.
"Even then, I didn't think it was all over," added the Swede. "Anything can happen at Augusta, and those last two holes are so tough. I was very good at staying in the present, we had a good feeling obviously, but it's never over until it's over. If you think too far ahead, that's dangerous and it's when mistakes can happen."
Faldo closed out a memorable win with his sixth birdie of the day at the last before embracing the crestfallen Australian with words of comfort that Norman publicly acknowledged in his press conference afterwards.
"I think it's a shame that many overlook that fact Nick shot 67, the best round of the final day," Sunesson said. "People remember Greg not winning rather than Nick's excellent play on Sunday, and it would have been nice to see more of the focus on Nick's great round rather than Greg having a bad one.
"It's never nice when the press crucify someone rather than talk about the good stuff, and that 67 was just an incredible round of golf. Only four other players broke 70 on Sunday. It was one of the best rounds I ever saw in my 25 years as a caddie, and I've seen some good ones.
"It was one of the best days of my career, but there was a tinge of sadness for Greg. It was one of those days where winning the tournament was obviously fantastic, it was a special victory with a lot of happiness, but I couldn't help feeling a little sadness for what Greg went through."
