The Shark Bites At Hartford Norman Eases To 2-Stroke Win; Triplett In Three-Way Tie For 2nd

The stigma of another runner-up finish in a major has done little to sour Greg Norman. In fact, he may be laughing all the way to the bank.

A runner-up at the U.S. Open a week ago, Norman eagled the 15th hole Sunday and went on to win the Greater Hartford Open, completing a month of golf that would be the envy of a venture capitalist.

He closed with a 1-over-par 71 for a two-stroke victory over a threesome that included Pullman native Kirk Triplett.

The win yielded a first-place prize of $216,000, raised Norman’s winnings for June to $781,780 - a nice year for many players - and pushed his earnings for 1995 past $1 million.

He started the lucrative string by winning the Memorial ($306,000), finishing fourth in the Kemper Open ($52,780) and taking second at the U.S. Open ($207,000).

“Golf’s a wonderful game,” said Norman, who hurt his back in April and took six weeks off. “You never know what’s around the corner.”

Norman finished at 13-under 267, setting a course record by a stroke. Fuzzy Zoeller led at No. 13, but his chance for his first title since 1986 slipped away when he double-bogeyed No. 17 and wound up at 270.

Norman, who watched his three-stroke lead slowly disappear to Zoeller in the final round, holed out of the greenside rough at No. 15 to regain command.

Norman, who has made a career of second-place finishes, including seven majors and last year’s GHO, was having a hard time finding his rythym and was in danger of losing the tournament. Then came his only eagle of the tournament.

“When it landed, I knew,” Norman said. “That was a special moment.”

This was Norman’s 14th PGA title and second in the United States this year. He joins Peter Jacobsen and Vijay Singh as two-time Tour winners in 1995.

In second at 269 were Dave Stockton Jr. (68), Grant Waite (69) and Triplett (69). At 270 were Brian Henninger (65), Don Pooley (65) and Zoeller (71).

It was a difficult day for Norman and Zoeller, with neither able to read the greens and the energized gallery making for rough going.

“It was tough getting to the tee,” Norman said.

Norman was a stroke off the lead after Zoeller sank a 15-foot birdie putt at No. 13. Two holes later he finessed a chip with a sand wedge from 40 feet, sending the ball bouncing onto the green and into the cup.

“I picked out a piece of a divot and it landed right where I was aiming,” said Norman, who walked away from the hole at 14-under, two strokes ahead of Zoeller, who bogeyed the hole after missing an 8-foot putt.

Zoeller, who had been striking the ball well all day but blew a couple short putts on the front nine, fell even farther back when he hit the water at No. 17 and took two extra strokes to fall to 10-under.

The 71 was Norman’s worst round of the tournament, and No. 10 was his worst hole. He drove into the trees and had to hit out by standing partially on the court path. He tried to low-hook a 3-iron to reach the green, but the ball caught a tree and landed in the rough. He left himself 6 feet short and had to two-putt for a double bogey.

“It was a bad drive, a bad shot, a bad chip and a bad putt. I got all six things out of the way right there,” he said.

Zoeller put his approach into the right greenside bunker, but sent a sand save within a few feet of the pin. He was only a stroke back after making par, then moved into a tie with Norman at No. 11.

They stayed even until 13, when Zoeller delivered a birdie putt that swung right and traveled 15 feet to the cup, giving him a one-stroke lead when Norman made par.

Everything changed two holes later. Before No. 15, Norman asked himself an important question.

“Do I want to win this golf tournament?” he said. “Yeah, I do,” was the reply. “Then let’s just go ahead and win it.”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: LEADERBOARD Final scores Sunday for the leaders of the $1.2 million Greater Hartford Open on the 6,820-yard, par-70 TPC at River Highlands: Greg Norman 67-64-65-71-267 Kirk Triplett 64-67-69-69-269 Dave Stockton 65-68-68-68-269 Grant Waite 66-67-67-69-269