There's hope for Norman yet

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Greg Norman was resigned to an April without Augusta.

"I haven't even thought about it," Norman said of the Masters Tournament he wasn't invited to for the first time in 23 years. "But when the week gets here, I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't thinking about it. But I accept it."

Stepping down from the Champions Loft in the TPC Sawgrass locker room, Norman spoke of his plans to work outside the country during Masters Week.

"Instead of pining, better to be working," he said.

Surely, those plans are flexible enough to make room for the Masters should he win this week's Players Championship.

"I don't even think that will be enough," Norman said.

Enough? A victory at the Players earns the bearer a three-year exemption into the Masters. Certainly Norman knows that.

"Really?" he said, his posture lifting and face brightening. "Well there you go. I'm going to go practice. That's good incentive to go work on my game."

Norman hasn't had to think about qualifying for the Masters in so long that he had no idea what the entry requirements were. A year ago he was given his second career special exemption by Masters chairman Hootie Johnson. In February, he received a letter from Johnson saying another exemption would not be forthcoming.

But Norman thought PGA Tour winners no longer got automatic exemptions and that his chances for making the 2003 field were nil. Because the Players is not a major (despite tour commissioner Tim Finchem's dreams), Norman assumed he couldn't make enough money or world ranking points in one event to squeeze in the back door of Augusta National Golf Club.

It must not have struck him as odd that Craig Perks was in the Masters last year.

Once informed, Norman's vigor was renewed. The 1994 winner at Sawgrass suddenly found himself more excited about a game he'd put on layaway for six weeks as he cruised the south of France in his yacht.

"Yes, I am, absolutely," he said. "Not that you need any more incentive when you come here. You always want to win. I know I've still got a chance (to make it into the Masters), so that gives you a little more enthusiasm and incentive to gather yourself. If I can relax and let my game happen, there might be a good chance of that happening."

Norman, 47, has missed the cut in his past two Players appearances. He hasn't played a PGA Tour event in seven months, since last year's WGC-NEC Invitational. His only competition this year was in Australia at the Heineken Classic six weeks ago.

"I've always been a strong believer that when you come back to the game you always do well," he said. "You come back fresh. You come back clean. You want to play. Your game is going to be there. I'm excited about playing."

Norman has 20 wins on the PGA Tour, but none since 1997. He played a reduced schedule of 13 PGA Tour events last season, but announced late in the year that he would rejoin the PGA Tour in 2003.

As much as he enjoys his other business endeavors and cruising the world in his 228-foot yacht, Aussie Rules, Norman still is drawn by the siren song of the golf course.

"My keenness to compete is still there," he said. "It's finding the right timing. I enjoy everything else in my life. It would be easy for me to gravitate that way. But I always have that pull bringing me back to golf. I love to compete. I'd hate to have it where it was just one way."

Norman might be able to accept a spring without the Masters, but this week he'll cling to a sliver of hope.

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.