Greg Norman's list of close calls at the Masters Tournament is legendary.

Nick Faldo won his third green jacket in 1996 with a brilliant final-round 67. He came from six shots back to win by five over Greg Norman, who imploded with a 78. (File)

There's 1986, when the popular Australian came to the 72nd hole tied with Jack Nicklaus. Norman pushed his approach far right on No. 18 and made bogey, and Nicklaus walked away with his sixth green coat.

A year later, the Great White Shark found himself in a three-way playoff with Seve Ballesteros and Augusta native Larry Mize. The hometown boy holed a miraculous chip from 140 feet on the second playoff hole to leave Norman empty-handed again.

Those two close calls, however, were nothing compared with Norman's downfall in 1996. Like Ken Venturi's collapse 40 years earlier, Norman could blame no one but himself.

Norman was the top-ranked golfer in the world, and Nick Faldo wasn't far behind. The best days of Masters legends such as Nicklaus and Tom Watson were behind them, and no young superstars had emerged at Augusta National Golf Club. Tiger Woods, still an amateur, missed the cut that year.

Nice lead

All signs pointed to a "Norman conquest" in 1996 as he opened the Masters with a record-tying 63. The score matched his good friend Nick Price's 9-under round in 1986 as the best in tournament history.

A 69 in the second round and a 71 in the third put Norman six ahead of Faldo and seven clear of Phil Mickelson going into the final round.

Norman's failure to hold 54-hole leads in majors had been duly noted by the press. After all, he achieved the "Saturday Slam" in 1986: He led all four majors through three rounds, but won only the British Open that year. Still, veteran Augusta observers figured this would be the year Norman would get his green jacket. The headline in Sunday's Augusta Chronicle read, "Shark Smells Blood."

Even Faldo, who had won back-to-back Masters in 1989 and 1990 with impressive comebacks, figured it was Norman's year to win.

Norman and Faldo teed off under perfect conditions that Sunday, and it didn't take long for Norman to show some signs of vulnerability. He bogeyed the first hole but came back with birdie at No. 2, then made bogeys on Nos. 4 and 9 for a 38. Faldo played the front in 2-under 34, and as the two set off on the final nine, the margin had been reduced to two.

Beginning to falter

The pressure was now squarely on Norman, who promptly made bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11 to see the rest of his lead disappear.

Faldo - the cool, calculating Brit - applied more pressure on the 12th when he hit the green with his tee shot. Now it was Norman's turn, and his iron shot hung out to the right. The ball hit the bank and trickled into Rae's Creek, leading to a double bogey. Augusta's patrons, not to mention millions of television viewers, were in shock: Norman now trailed by two.

Crucial moment

Norman matched Faldo over the next three holes with two birdies and a par, but came to the 16th still trailing. He hooked his tee shot so far left that it found the pond that guards the green, and the resulting double bogey left him down four. After that tee shot, Norman bent over at the waist and stared at the ground, and the resulting image became the cover shot for the following week's Sports Illustrated.

The result

It was over, and Norman's day of celebration had gone worse than anyone could have imagined. His 78 to Faldo's 67 left him five behind, and it set a record for futility as the biggest blown lead in major championship history.

"Nick played good golf, and I played poorly,'' Norman said. "You can make up a lot of shots when that happens. It's not the end of the world for me. I'm not going to fall off the edge of the world because of what happened.''

It also extended Norman's misery at Augusta. Only Tom Weiskopf finished as runner-up in the Masters more times without winning than Norman, with four.

Overshadowed in the historic collapse was Faldo's brilliant play. His third Masters title let him join select company; only Nicklaus, Woods and Arnold Palmer have had more success at Augusta National.

After the round was finished, Faldo gave Norman a hug.

"We had an amazing day,'' Faldo said. "I hope I'm remembered for shooting 67 and not for what happened to Greg. But, obviously, this will be remembered for what happened to Greg.''

Norman was gracious in defeat, and he put it in perspective in his session with reporters after the round.

"I let this one get away,'' Norman said.

"I'll wake up tomorrow morning still breathing, I hope.''

Reach John Boyette at (706) 823-3337 or john.boyette@augustachronicle.com.

Related Stories

- Things fall apart: Top 10 Masters collapses

- 10 years ago: The Shark floundered historically

- 50 years ago: Venturi's 80 opened door for Burke