Greg Norman says Tiger Woods' days of dominance could be behind him
Greg Norman knows a little something about being in the spotlight. The two-time major champion, known as
The Shark for his aggressive style of play, was one of the most popular and dominant golfers of the 80s and early 90s. And today, he offered some opinions and predictions when it comes to another dominant golfer: Tiger Woods.
Woods, a 14-time major champion, has had a rough year with his infidelity scandal forcing him to miss a large chunk of the season and marring his squeaky-clean image. Moreover, he is winless
on the PGA Tour this season for the first time in his career.
“I don't think it's going to be as easy for him as what it was in the past,” said Norman at the media day for his annual Shark Shootout. “I think his confidence level has been completely
dented a little bit… When you walk from green to tee…you get things thrown in your ear that you cannot block out, no matter how strong your mind is. So Tiger has probably experienced a little bit of that, and it's going to be tough because he's gone through
10, 15 years of his career where everybody was just yelling great things to him.”
Before recent events threw his personal life and his golf game into disarray, Woods was known as an intimidating presence on the golf course. Winning majors by record margins, including
a 12-stroke win at the 1997 Masters, many believed his competition to be afraid of him, wilting in his presence. Norman said those days could be over.
"Each year that goes by, Tiger gets a year older, and these kids get a year younger, and now the kids are not as intimidated by Tiger Woods as they used to be. So now you have this fresh
pool of young talent coming through who is saying, give me the reins, I'll go take it on any time."
Norman expects Woods to rebound but it may just be as a regular golfer, instead of a supernatural one.
“He'll come back and win golf tournaments, but he won't be as dominating as he used to be."
One big question left to be answered is whether Woods will catch up to Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles, a goal many considered a foregone conclusion before the latest scandal.
Norman thinks he could still do it but considers it far from a lock.
"I think he still has a chance to catch Jack,” said Norman. “I think the chances are getting slimmer and slimmer, though…He's a good enough player to do it, there's no question about it.
It's just that as more time goes on, those chances start to dwindle more and more.”
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