NORMAN, CLARK TO MISS AUSTRALIAN OPEN
By Brendan James
Editor
Golf Australia
Greg Norman's announcement that he will not play this year's Australian Open at NSW GC due to a shoulder injury is a disappointment but is arguably better than him turning up, playing at 50 percent and missing the cut.
Norman, who underwent surgery on the shoulder just days before the Presidents Cup in October, has not recovered as quickly as his surgeon had hoped and he will not play golf again this year. But even at best he was only going to start practising for an assault on the championship ten days out from the opening round. Hardly the sort of preparation required to win such a tough championship.
I have no doubt the Shark, who has always said he is not a ceremonial golfer and is committed to winning every event he plays, probably realised he was not going to be competitive and pulled the pin at the first opportunity.
"Having made the decision to have surgery in September in order to facilitate my playing the Australian Open and The Shark Shootout, I am disappointed," Norman said in a press release.
"At the same time, I understand it would not be prudent to rush my return to competitive golf.
"I was very much looking forward to playing this year's Australian Open at the New South Wales Golf Club. I look forward to playing in 2010 and expect that I will make one visit to Sydney in support of The Australian Open in the middle part of 2010."
Meanwhile, the man whom Norman described as his "little bulldog" at the Presidents Cup, Tim Clark, has also pulled out after accepting a last-minute invitation to play the lucrative Nedbank Challenge in his home country, South Africa.
Interestingly, there was no official announcement from Golf Australia of the reigning Open champion not coming back to defend his title.
However, the championship organiser has said: "Golf Australia intends to pursue opportunities to make other world-class additions to the field."
Norman's shoes will be hard to fill. Clark's, not so hard.
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