It was a fair enough question considering everything that's happened to him in Augusta. There was the old man, the chip-in, the meltdown -- all the cruelties heaped upon Greg Norman's shoulders through the years at the Masters Tournament.

Greg Norman's tie for third in the British Open secured his first invitation since 2002. (Associated Press)

So does he still have a fondness for Augusta National Golf Club?

"Absolutely," Norman said.

Seven years removed from his last official visit to the Masters, Norman returns to the stage where he's played the tragic hero so often. It was news to him that his mesmerizing tie for third in last year's British Open at Royal Birkdale earned him a return trip to Augusta.

He's not letting past demons scare him away.

"If I was worried about that I'd never step foot outside my house," Norman said. "I loved Augusta, and I still do. I've got a lot of great friends up there. I miss going to Augusta to see my friends."

Norman lauds the benevolence of Augusta National's "dictatorship" for creating an environment that's the envy of the world.

"Dictatorships work well when they're done right," he said. "I still think Augusta is the purest golf tournament in the world. There's no hype or corporate tents and all that stuff. You just go there and play golf. Augusta is managed and operated on an extremely high level, and they do an extremely good job. That's why I loved it.

"Of course I have had a lot of pain there, too."

It's the pain that links Norman so inexorably to the Masters. He fell to Jack Nicklaus in 1986, and suffered the playoff miracle chip by Augustan Larry Mize a year later to establish a pattern of misfortune in majors that extended to 1999, when he couldn't catch Jose Maria Olazabal in the final Sunday pairing.

But it is 1996 that is so firmly seared in the minds of Masters patrons as Norman's most painful experience. It was a four-hour ordeal watching his six-shot lead turn into a five-shot loss to Nick Faldo. He was a giant figure reduced to a sympathetic character.

As painful as it was, Norman was embraced for his grace in defeat.

"It was a huge turning point in my life," he said. "When I had that six-stroke lead and it didn't work, I mean, I was elevated in the world of the public eye by losing, not by winning.

"That changed my life, I can tell you that, dramatically, just by the outpouring of e-mails and letters and support that I got. No matter whether I walked anywhere, somebody would make a comment about how it changed their life towards their son or daughter the way I handled it. So I won in a lot of ways, but I didn't win the green jacket."

At 54, does he still have a shot at the green jacket? He almost won a claret jug at 53.

"He's always played well at Augusta," Nicklaus said. "I mean, I almost won it on one leg at 58. So certainly a man who's in a lot better shape than I was and five years younger can certainly do pretty well."

Said fellow Australian Robert Allenby: "I think if anyone ever deserves to win a Masters, it's Greg Norman. There's no doubt about it. And that would be a fairy tale, that's for sure, if he went out there this year and won it."

Without preparing, Norman contended in the winds of Birkdale on the strength of his innate skill and veteran guile. His bid to become the oldest major winner in history was inspiring.

"I thought that what he did is something that is pretty special to the game of golf," Nicklaus said. "I liken it a little bit to what happened to me in '86."

But on an Augusta course tightened and stretched more than 200 yards since he last played in 2002, it will take more than just showing up. Norman began preparing Dec. 1.

"I'm still strong and still very healthy and still very flexible, and that helps me get away with a lot," he said. "I've always been a believer: Age is really not anything but a number, as long as you keep yourself in good shape."

With his son, Gregory, as his caddie and new wife Chris Evert, a winner of 18 tennis grand slam events, as his motivational partner, Norman will take on Augusta on his terms. He says Evert is as excited as he is to get this experience he calls "a joy."

Whether this turns out as a chance to get his just desserts or give a final bow, Norman will take it in the context of his new standing and the course's new era.

"I'm going to have my expectation the same level as when I went into the British Open, because I haven't played that golf course for, I think, six years now," he said. "I know it's been lengthened. I have been up there with friends in the winter months, and I hit a 3-wood into 11. So the days of hitting 8-iron into 11 are long gone."

But Norman isn't. Not yet.

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