Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 Official World Golf Rankings ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s. He has won 91 international tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournaments and two majors: The Open Championships in 1986 and 1993. Norman also earned thirty top-10 finishes and was the runner-up 8 times in majors throughout his career.
Professional career: 1987-1990
Norman endured another setback at the 1987 Masters. In his final round on the 18th green, Norman had a 20-foot putt for a birdie that would win the tournament. The ball trickled over the left lip of the cup, missing by millimetres. After Norman's par on the 72nd hole at Augusta, he found himself in a sudden-death playoff with Larry Mize and Seve Ballesteros. On the second playoff hole, with Ballesteros eliminated, Mize holed a 47-yard (140-foot) chip to win the tournament. Norman did, however, win the Australian Masters in February 1987 and the Australian Open later in the year by a record ten shots at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, beating the previous Australian Open record winning margin of eight strokes by Jack Nicklaus in 1971. Norman's 1987 victory at the Australian Open lifted him back above Seve Ballesteros to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking.  Norman had another four wins in Australia in 1988. In the U.S., Norman won the MCI Heritage Golf Classic at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina in April 1988, inspired by a leukemia-stricken teenager who got his wish to meet Norman and watch him play. The teenager was only supposed to watch the golfer for two rounds, but Norman arranged for him to stay until the tournament's completion. After the tournament, Norman awarded the teen with the trophy. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in that year.  At the 1989 Masters, Norman missed a 12-foot par putt on the 72nd hole which would have put him into a playoff with Nick Faldo and Scott Hoch. Norman had another chance at a major in 1989, this time at the Open Championship at Royal Troon. He played a final-round of 64, starting his round with six straight birdies, to force his way into a playoff with Mark Calcavecchia and Wayne Grady. Going into the final playoff hole, Norman and Calcavecchia were tied, but two successive bunker shots by Norman gave Calcavecchia the victory.  Norman won the Doral-Ryder Open and Memorial Tournament in March 1990 after having missed the cut for the first time at the 1990 Masters. In the 1990 Open Championship at St Andrews, Norman began with two rounds of 66, leaving himself sharing the lead with Nick Faldo after 36 holes and the pair four shots ahead of the rest of the field. Faldo then shot a third round of 67, but Norman could only manage 76. Norman finished the tournament tied for sixth place, while Faldo won by five shots. Although 1990 was not Norman's strongest majors year, he finished at the top of the PGA Tour money list for the second time in his career and won the Vardon Trophy and Byron Nelson Award. Later that year, he won the Australian Masters in his home country for a final and record sixth time.
What was he doing in 1987?
Norman endured another setback at the 1987 Masters.
Norman endured another setback at the 1987 Masters.