Norman: Veterans can still win majors

Two-time Open champion Greg Norman has revealed that improvements in both fitness and equipment offer players in their fifties the chance to win a major title.

Norman is due to make a rare appearance on the Champions Tour at next week's Constellation Senior Players Championship in Pittsburgh and was asked if there was a chance that players from his era could still have a magical week - as he did at Royal Birkdale in 2008 and Tom Watson did at Turnberry the following year.

“Oh, absolutely I do,” replied Norman. “It's all that muscle memory and mental training you've done for 35 years. It's ingrained, it's in your system, it never leaves you.

“Your mind is still as sharp as what it was before, but physically you're maybe not as capable of doing the things you did before.

“Your body speed's not as fast, and obviously you don't have the smoothness, I guess, in your putting stroke because that's age, that's time, that's just the natural course of the older you get.

“But it is all deep down inside, there's no question about it. When you put yourself in a position like Tom and I did a few years ago, those things come flooding back very, very quickly.

“It's amazing the sense of calmness and the sense of remembrance and the sense of competitive spirit, how quickly it comes flooding back.

“It's actually a joy because I don't know too many other sports in the world that you can walk away from, come back to it, put yourself in a position and say 'Wow! I can still compete with the best of the best.'

“And it's up to the athlete. Once the athlete's done it once, he can do it again, I'm truly a big believer in that.

“Just to touch on '08 and '09, I am a huge believer that somebody in their 50s will definitely win a major championship in the very near future because technology helps them, their fitness and flexibility's always there, their mental prowess is there.

“They just have to marry all that up to the right golf course, like Birkdale was for me and like Turnberry was for Tom.”

So was Norman tempted after that week at Birkdale to play more often, having shown the world he still had it?

“Sorry for the brutely short answer, but no.

“Look, my whole game plan in life is not to just hang around to hang around. I already established and continue to establish my business life what I enjoy about it and developing and growing and going off into new ventures.

“That entices me now, that excites me now, just like hitting a 1-iron off the cart path at TPC at the 16th hole and hooking it around over the water. Doing some deals now and looking into the future about the abilities of those deals is that exciting.”

Norman was also asked if he thought the fall of Tiger Woods is the main contributor to the fact that golf has had nine first-timers win 15 successive majors.

“I think it's a credit to what's happened to global golf. I think there was too many eggs put in one basket with everybody's focus on Tiger Woods.

“Yes, he was producing the goods, but all these other great players were left sitting in the background and not talking about them.

“Now all of a sudden they're producing, whether it's from the United States, Northern Ireland or other parts around the world, the global recognition of these young guys is rightfully where it should be.

“They should be spoken about more and written about more. And I've said this constantly now for quite a while. I've never seen the health of the game of golf as healthy as what it is today on a global basis.  That's why I think the spoils are being shared around equally and fairly.”

Is your golf maturing with age or is the spirit willing but the body is getting weaker? Let us know in the forum, via @Golfmagic or on our Facebook page.

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