Almost. When Norman did finally make that solitary bogey at 13—a leaf blew across his line just as he was about to stroke a nine-footer for par—poor Fuzzy would not trust his eyes. He walked over to NBC's on-course reporter, Maltbie, and whispered, "Did he actually make a bogey?" Maltbie, wide-eyed, confirmed that he had. Reports that leaf crumbs were found in Zoeller's pocket could not be confirmed.
"I really wanted to go bogey-free," said Norman. "You know, there are things you have an opportunity of doing in life maybe once or twice. And 72 holes without a bogey is, well..." Rare. Lee Trevino is believed to be the last person to do it, in 1974 in New Orleans.
Norman then made his smart par on 16, went for the fat part of the island green at the par-3 17th ("the toughest 141-yard shot under pressure in golf," says Norman), and instead hit it to two feet for a birdie. From there he strode to the 18th and made par for his 67th worldwide win and some serious pressure at the Masters, where he has faced the biggest disappointments of his career, where he has never won what he calls "the best championship in the world."
But for now, there is this shining, heroic win on a course that had never been so violated before, and a makeup for his embarrassing eight-shot U.S. Open playoff loss to Zoeller at Winged Foot 10 years ago.
"You know what we should have done?" said sixth-place finisher Brad Faxon. "Taken Greg skiing."
