11 September 2023 , 17:41
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Sir Nick Faldo has taken a brutal dig at his long-time rival Greg Norman, 27 years after pipping the Australian star to the Masters title at Augusta.
Faldo secured his third green jacket back in 1996, at the expense of Norman who surrendered his greatest chance to become a Masters champion. The Aussie had dominated throughout the week in Georgia, holding the lead at the end of each of the opening three days.
Norman left himself in a perfect spot to go wire-to-wire and get his hands on a famous green jacket, after beginning the fourth and final round on the Sunday six shots clear of the chasing pack, which was led by Faldo.
Despite his comfortable lead the former world No. 1 had a final round to forget, carding a six-over-par 78 over his final 18 holes. Faldo meanwhile took advantage of his fourth round partner's misfortune, and did so in style, shooting a five-under 67 to complete a remarkable turnaround and win the event by five shots.
Whilst the Englishman's third and final Masters win came nearly three decades ago, Faldo took to social media on Monday to offer a gentle reminder to his rival. Referencing Norman's famous nickname 'The Shark', Faldo reminisced about his 'shark hunting' exploits 27 years ago.
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Donning a Jaws t-shirt that included a 'shark fishing' slogan, the Englishman was asked in a video uploaded to his shared Twitter account with wife, Lindsay when was the last time he had gone shark hunting, to which he replied: "1996. April '96 was my last shark hunt."
Asked 'how it went', he then responded with a smirk: "It went well. I didn't need a bigger boat if you know what I mean. My boat was big enough." As well as sharing a great rivalry on the course, Faldo and Norman have shared one at times off it too, especially following the emergence of LIV Golf last year.
Norman is in charge of the breakaway circuit, acting as the league's CEO, and one man who emerged as one of its biggest critics is Faldo. Discussing Norman's involvement with the Saudi-backed league earlier this year, Faldo claimed the bullish Aussie had 'wrecked' his legacy in the world of golf.
He told Sky Sports : "He [Norman] was a great golfer. He really was a charismatic, exciting golfer and he's absolutely wrecked all of that." The six-time major champion did not stop there in his criticism, after also going on to label the LIV tour 'meaningless'.