And at the moment, he’s a 53-year-old with little practice and less recent competitive experience than all those golfers breathing down his neck. But 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus woke up the echoes on the back nine at the Masters in 1986 and Julius Boros, then 48, turned back the clock at the 1968 PGA. Those precedents were enough to convince a few sober souls that the improbable might be possible.

“The only thing I would relate it to is back to my own experience,” recalled Nicklaus, dropping by Royal Birkdale for a visit. “I hadn’t played any golf, a few tournaments here and there. But I remembered how to play when I needed to down the stretch. And maybe that’s the position he’ll find himself in come the weekend.”

Added fellow Aussie Robert Allenby: “I think it’s great for golf, and you know, it’s great for us to see him right there leading the way. You know, it’s amazing, for 10 years straight he was the one to beat, and he’s going to be the one to beat this week.”

Evert caught only so much golf before the two hooked up, but the thing she liked most about her husband back then still makes her blush now.

“I used to watch a little bit of Ballesteros, a little bit of Nicklaus. But Greg always had that charisma, he had that walk,” Evert said, then stopped and smiled.

“You know,” she added, “he’s got a great walk.”

Whether that gait thrills the packed grandstand the same way coming up the 18th on Sunday with a chance to do what no one in the game has accomplished will depend largely on whether Norman can temper his own fire with a little bit of her ice. No matter how things end, though, Norman already feels like he’s going through this phase of his career on a free pass.

“Given your minimal expectations for this event,” a reporter asked, “did you have any alternative plans for the weekend?”

Norman rolled his eyes.

“Boy,” he said, to raucous laughter, “I missed you guys.”

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