Greg Norman

Greg Norman has been the World Number One more often and for longer than any other golfer in an age when he competition from all comers of the world ; fiercer than ever. He is one of the longest and straightest hitters there has ever been. He has an excellent short game, honed by hours of practice. He has a charismatic personality and, as 'The Great White Shark", always attracts huge galleries to watch him play. However, to date, he has won the Open only twice, first at Turnberry in 1986 when he equalled the tournament record with a 63, and again in 1993 at Royal St George's, and 10 other major. His record in these has been marked by a series of catastrophes. Bob Tway chipped in from a bunker to beat him in the USPGA Championship in 1986 when he had held a big lead with just nine holes left to play. Larry Mize chipped in at Augusta to beat him in a play-off at the Masters in 1987. He lost a play-off for the Open in 1989, when it was won by Mark Calcavecchia. He lost a play-off for the USPGA in 1993 to Paul Azinger and he was second in the US Open to Corey Pavin in 1995. In the 1996 Masters he led by six shots from Nick Faldo at the start of the final round but blew up and lost by five shots. All things are relative, yet it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that when it really comes to the crunch Norman has flaws, either of technique or temperament, which prevent him succeeding at the highest level of the game.

 Bernhard Langer

Bernhard Langer is the best golfer ever to come from Germany. Indeed, he was the first German to win the German Open Championship, which he did in 1981. He has won the Masters twice, in 1985 and 1993, been second twice in the Open and ""on countless other tournaments all over the world. His career has been dogged by the "yips", the dreaded jerk which afflicts many players confronted with a three-foot putt, and in his career he has found three different cures, the last of which involves him gripping the putter left hand below right, with the right hand clamping the putter handle to his left forearm. His determination to overcome this trouble is typical of a tenacity that makes him such a dangerous adversary on the course. It was unfortunate for him that he was the player who missed the four-foot putt that meant the Ryder Cup returned to the USA in 1991 at Kiawah Island.