10 Greatest sporting chokes of all time (Part-1)

6. Greg Norman, 1996 US Masters- ‘Any lead can prove to be insignificant if you decide to choke’

If it’s about the greatest sporting chokes, Greg Norman is definitely worth an inclusion. He’s known for so many incidents where his nerves would lead him to squander even the best of chances to win a major tournament.

This was still pretty special, even by Norman’s standards it would need a ridiculously poor round of golf to let go a six-stroke lead on the final day. Nick Faldo, second on the leaderboard wasn’t playing that well as they approached the 9^th hole on the final day. Norman, the world No. 1 then, was paired with Faldo, and the two hit their first shots well. Then they faced the green. In front of the pin, there was a steep slope, so that any ball hit short would come rolling back down the hill into oblivion. Faldo shot first, and the ball landed safely long, well past the cup. Norman was next. He stood over the ball. “The one thing you guard against here is short,” the announcer said, stating the obvious. Norman swung and then froze, his club in midair, following the ball in flight. It was short. Norman watched, stone-faced, as the ball rolled thirty yards back down the hill, and with that error something inside of him broke. Norman just never backed himself after that shot to approach the 9^th hole, as he shot a poor 78 in the final round. His hands were trembling even on a 3 and a half foot putt at the 12^th hole. His game which was the best as it can get until the other day looked nothing more than a labored effort at that point as he stacked up consecutive bogeys in the last few holes. Who saw that coming!

Faldo, without being challenged, had a 4-stroke lead into the 18^th hole and when it was all over, Faldo wrapped Norman around his arms, as the two men began to cry.

Hope you enjoyed the first part of the series. Read part two here.