Norman makes his intentions known with 63

GIVING free rein to one of the greatest talents in the history of the game, Greg Norman shot a majestic, course record equalling 63 in the opening round of the 60th US Masters at Augusta National yesterday. Yet, remarkable scoring overall meant that at the end of play he was only two strokes clear of the brilliant left hander, Phil Mickelson, with Bob Tway and Scott Hoch a further two strokes adrift in a share of third place.

The game's most illustrious terrain had never seen an opening day quite like it. Norman, clearly signalling his determination to capture an elusive title, became the first player to set such a target in the first round. He lowered by a stroke the opening effort of Lloyd Mangrum in 1940 and by Mike Donald six years ago.

In the process, he found an appropriate way of marking the 10th anniversary of the record 63, set by his good friend Nick Price in the third round in 1986. And, by his own estimation, it was one of his all time great rounds. "On a scale of one to 10, I would give it nine," he said.

As to why he had declined to award himself a perfect 10, the Shark explained that he still regarded as superior the 63 he shot on his way to victory in the British Open at Turnberry in 1986 and the closing 64 of his triumph in the same championship at Royal St George's three years ago. Conditions were more difficult at Turnberry, while at Sandwich, I was playing for the title," he said.

It is of no matter. In my view, this performance stands apart as the finest opening round in the history of the major championships. And the nature of the scoring, with nine birdies and no bogeys and 16 out of 18 greens hit in regulation, emphasised the quality of the achievement.

Only a few hours earlier, we were hailing the towering talent of a one time little boy whose first, faltering swings were as a mirror image of his golfing father. Mickelson's seven under par 65 had appeared good enough to lead. But even as things turned out, it still held huge significance for the potential of an immensely gifted player, who seems certain to set new standards of proficiency for left handed players.

Barely a breath of wind made for ideal scoring conditions, provided competitors managed to get the feel of the notoriously fast greens. And with the help of some favourable pin placements, many of them did, particularly on the homeward journey which Norman and Mickelson covered in 30 strokes Tway in 31 and Lee Janzen and the admirably resilient Hoch, in 32.

All of which was a sharp reflection of the vastly improved standards in putting throughout the professional game. And the delightful touches which Mickelson demonstrated with his short irons would be vividly familiar to those Irish enthusiasts who were fortunate to see him in the Walker Cup at Portmarnock in 1991.

Yet there was also a downside to the day's activities. While 66 year old Arnold Palmer was shooting a highly creditable 74 certain European challengers suffered in the sunshine. Sam Torrance drove the ball poorly in a miserable 80 Costantino Rocca and Gordon Sherry found little joy on the way to 78s and Sandy Lyle failed to rediscover masterly form in a 75.

But there were greatly encouraging performances from England's David Gilford and Nick Faldo, both of whom shot 69 to be well within range of the lead at this early stage. And the adage that while you can't win a tournament on the opening day, you can almost certainly lose it, could have been applied to defending champion Ben Crenshaw after a depressing 77, while the 1992 winner, Fred Couples, crashed to a 78.

"This is the first time I've seen the course so dry on the opening day usually it's a little moist," said Faldo. "But it's going to gets even firmer, which means that you'll have to play smart, aggressive shots to hit the right spot." The two time former champion putted solidly if not spectacularly, his four birdies being only partially offset by a lone, three putt bogey at the 14th.

Norman's round was all the more interesting for the fact that it was his first time to break 70 on the opening day since his Augusta debut in 1981. Faldo had experienced the same fate, though, significantly, the other occasion that he broke 70 on the opening day in 12 previous Masters appearances was in 1989 when he went on to win the title.

Meanwhile, however desirable it might have been in terms of dramatic impact, the Australian was not about to attribute his exploits to any mystical source. "I just happened to wake up feeling good and the feeling stayed with me throughout the day," said the player who came here after missing successive cuts for the first time in his career.

During a recent chat, Fred Couples told me that he would like to be playing Norman's drives in the Masters. On yesterday's evidence one could see why. From the time he smashed his opening drive over the fairway bunker on the right a carry of 255 yards, uphill the Shark achieved stunning length and consistency.

For instance, he needed only a seven iron second shot to reach the 555 yard second the 435 yard ninth was reduced to a drive and sand wedge the 485 yard 10th to a drive and eight iron the 455 yard 11th to a nine iron second and the 500 yard 15th to a seven iron.

After birdies at the seventh, eighth and ninth, he had reached the turn in 33, by which stage he set his sights on a round of possibly five or six under". But then things began to happen.

An 18 foot birdie putt hung on the lip of the 11th, but boundless riches were at hand. With purity of striking that only he, at his irrepressible best, can deliver, Norman birdied six of the last seven holes. The exception was the treacherous short 16th where, earlier in the day, Gilford had four putted from just inside the front edge.

Given Crenshaw's grief, it was ironic that Mickelson should have credited him with invaluable help in understanding some of the more subtle putting breaks when they practised together on Wednesday. Both he and Norman hit 16 greens in regulation and 12 out of 14 fairways. So where was the difference?

Both strokes were on the greens Mickelson had 29 putts to Norman's 27. The more revealing was at the short fourth where they both finished in the left hand bunker. Norman exploded to three feet to save par whereas Mickelson missed a downhill effort of four feet.

But it was unquestionably Norman's day. And given the nature of the man, it is virtually certain that he will dominate the remainder of the tournament.