Those who watched the Shark Shootout presented by Merrill Lynch this weekend were treated with a rare glimpse of Greg Norman. A blast from the past if you will – or a return to competition of one of the game’s all-time dynamic figures. Granted, The Shark Shootout is a team event with a format that would never be mistaken for the Ryder Cup — but don’t kid yourself — Norman was grinding to win. And it was fun to watch. Sadly however, in an all too familiar classic Greg Norman scenario, a lesser pro (Woody Austin) made a great shot on the last hole to nip him by one. Make no mistake, I take nothing away from Woody Austin. He’s a great player — but in historical terms — he’s no Greg Norman. But wasn’t that always the way with Greg?

I got into an argument a few months back with a friend and fellow golf professional about Greg Norman. His contention was Greg was always overrated and never won enough. My contention was Greg was underrated and never won enough. I also said Greg Norman should go down in history as one of the all-time best players. Of course, this made my friend chuckle — but allow me to make Greg’s case.

First, think of one memorable tournament during Greg Norman’s prime that he did not play a factor. I think you would be hard pressed to come up with one — let alone many. Simply, he was always in contention in big events — and always had a chance to win. Basically, from 1984 – 1996, if there was a major tournament — Norman had a chance to win.

First, let’s talk about the Masters.

Norman had 8 top-five finishes and no victories. In 1986, he bogeyed the 18th hole to miss a playoff by one. In 1987, in a playoff, Larry Mize made a miraculous chip to beat him by one. In 1988 and 89, he again had chances to win on the back nine, only to finish 5th and 3rd. And of course who could forget the collapse of 1996 where Norman’s back-nine meltdown opened the door for Nick Faldo’s 3rd Green Jacket.

Next, let’s talk about the U.S. Open.

Norman had 5 top-ten finishes and no victories. In 1984, he lost a playoff to Fuzzy Zoeller. In 1995, he again played poorly on the back nine, which allowed Corey Pavin to win his first major.

Next, the British Open.

Norman had 9 top-ten finishes and 2 victories (1986 and 1993). Although clearly his best “major results”, he could have and should have won again in 1989. He lost a playoff to Mark Calcavecchia and never hit one bad shot. He birdied the first two playoff holes. Made a bogey on the 3rd playoff hole with a shot that flew right over the flag and a chip that lipped out. And made an “X” on the last playoff hole by driving the ball straight down the middle 345 yards into a small pot bunker. This of course after shooting 64 to get into the playoff.

Next, the PGA Championship.

Norman had 5 top-five finishes and no victories. He lost in 1986 to Bob Tway’s miraculous holed bunker shot on the 72nd hole. In 1993, he lost in a playoff to Paul Azinger after “lipping” out putt after putt in overtime. He should have won both of these events as he was clearly the better player and did nothing to lose either.

If you’re keeping track — this is a playoff loss in each major championship. For the record, Greg Norman is the only person to ever lose all four major championships in a playoff.

So, Norman has two major victories, which for most players would be wonderful — but for Greg, it is a complete and utter disappointment. Here is my concern as it relates to Greg Norman. I’m worried that in 50 years, as people are looking at the golf record books — they will see this guy named Greg Norman with 20 PGA Tour wins, 14 European wins and 2 Majors. They’ll think — here was a pretty good player. Yet, they’ll have no idea how close he was to being known as the greatest player ever. So — here is my argument for that outlandish statement.

If you give Greg Norman two shots a year from 1984 — 1996 to use anyway he wants — and let him use them as a mulligan or take them away from one of his competitors — his record would be unbelievable. I know, I know — that’s not golf. We can make that argument with a lot of people. It’s the day of the event that matters. But — Greg Norman is such a special case — I believe he deserves special examination.

So, back to my argument. Give Greg two shots a year and what happens?

Well, he wins 2 Masters, 2 U.S. Opens, 3 British Opens, 3 PGA Championships and a plethora of other PGA Tour events. Important PGA Tour events. Remember Robert Gamez at Bay Hill? Or David Frost in New Orleans? Or how about Mark McCumber in San Francisco? These are just a few of the guys who holed out improbable shots on 18 to beat Greg Norman.

Okay, so now, if you give Greg the two shot a year — you’ve got a player with 10 majors, 30 PGA Tour wins, 20 European Tour wins, 33 Australian wins and 22 other world-wide victories. And a player with this record during the booming “television” age — may just be considered one of, if not the best player ever. Definitely in the top 3 all-time. Of course realistically, the argument of the best player ever is going to be a moot point by the time Tiger Woods is done being — well Tiger Woods.

But my point remains the same. Greg Norman’s legacy should not just be the record books. It should be all he did to lift the game to unprecedented worldwide heights right after a definite lull in the sport. It should be his then unprecedented run as the number one ranked player in the world. It should be the way he played the game — never out of a tournament — no matter where he began on Sunday. I used to love — pre-Internet age — to turn on the television Sunday to see highlights of Norman shooting 30 on the front 9 to get back in the tournament. To me, Tiger has yet to be as exciting as Greg Norman was. Yes, he’s better — much better when it comes to winning — but not more exciting. Plus, Norman’s skills should go down with the all-time best.

Norman was probably the best driver of the golf ball ever. He is among the top-five long iron and fairway wood players ever. I would put his overall short game among the top-five ever. He was a great pressure putter. Simply, there was nothing he couldn’t do. Norman had only two problems. One, he had a flaw in his iron swing that caused a “way right” miss under pressure. Two, he had a mind that wouldn’t let him admit this flaw to himself. He would only try to hit great shots under pressure — and never played it safe. If he didn’t have the second problem — there is no telling how many times he would have won.

Yes, this was a Greg Norman rant. But – after watching him on television today, I realized something significant. I missed him. I miss watching and wondering what was going to happen. Today, as lucky as we are to watch Tiger Woods — we know what’s going to happen. If Tiger’s leading — Tiger’s winning. With Greg, he could birdie holes 10-17 to tie the lead and then make a double on 18. It’s exciting when the best player in the world plays this way. I suppose that’s why so many people love to watch Phil Mickelson today – or Arnold Palmer in his prime.

Anyway, if you’re ever on the course or a pub somewhere and someone starts bad mouthing Greg Norman — stick up for him. They probably have no idea how close he was to being one of the best ever.