With seniors' golf back in the spotlight, Mark Roe wonders if it might be Greg Norman's time to shine.
Can Great White Shark roll back the years?
One of the many consequences of Tom Watson's magnificent display at The Open Championship has been to thrust seniors' golf back into the spotlight.
Some people will say his efforts have proved that age is not necessarily a barrier when it comes to playing top-class golf and that will give seniors' golf a real shot in the arm.
Others, however, will argue that if a 59-year-old can come within inches of winning The Open, then there is not much need for a Seniors Tour or a Champions Tour. Why not just let them compete in regular events?
Personally I love watching the seniors' events and I'm very pleased that we are able to give them so much coverage on
Sky Sports and on
Golf Night.
It is always a pleasure to see the stars of yesteryear recreating some of their old magic - but this is not exhibition stuff and these guys are not just in it for the money. They still have a huge desire to win and the competition is tremendously fierce.
We saw a perfect example of that last week at the Senior Open, which was compelling viewing from start to finish. It really was must-see television.
Throughout the tournament we were constantly kept guessing as to who was going to emerge on top and after a three-man play-off, it was Loren Roberts who emerged as the winner.
Watching his celebrations, you can't try to tell me that this was an "exhibition event". Winning a senior major probably meant more to him than it did to win regular Tour events during his career.
He went out in a field of superstars and he was not only able to compete with them, but he actually ended up beating them.
That gave us some wonderful drama - and I am hoping for more of the same this week when the US Senior Open hits our screens.
Names
Once again there will be some huge names in the field at Crooked Stick Golf Club. Apart from Watson, you will also be able to watch the likes of Tom Kite, Ian Woosnam, Hale Irwin, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman and Mark O'Meara. You need a few fingers to add up how many major titles they've won between them!
And then of course, there's Greg Norman whose display at Sunningdale last week almost seemed to sum up his career.
He was magnificent for much of the tournament and going into the final day it looked as if the Great White Shark was going to go on and win a senior major.
But his lead slipped away and a double bogey at the 17th was the final nail in the coffin as he finished up in sixth place, three strokes behind the leaders.
After finishing runner-up in eight majors during his regular career, we saw Norman's jinx strike again. Of course, we will never forget his two victories at The Open Championship - but there will always be a footnote on his career that he should have won many, many more majors than he has.
Major championships separate the very best golfers from the rest and Norman has some so close, so often. He's been hugely successful but when you look down the list of great players and the number of majors they've won, he is quite a long way down.
Maybe he can go some way to righting that wrong this week. One thing is for sure, he will go for it with everything he has and he certainly still has what it takes to finish at the front of this star-studded field.
Wouldn't it be great to see some of that Norman magic again - and to finally see him lift a major on American soil?
