It would appear to be some cruel twist of irony that we put Greg Norman up against Stewart Ginn on the same date 24 years on from his most heartbreaking Masters moment as we continue our search for Australia’s Greatest Golfer.

It was April 14, 1996 that Norman began the final round of The Masters with a six-stroke advantage yet with all of Australia collectively holding their breath, collapsed in spectacular fashion to finish four strokes behind Nick Faldo.

A two-time British Open champion and world No.1 for an incredible 331 weeks, we have come to associate Norman’s career not by his triumphs but by the gut-wrenching defeats.

As golf fans pored over Masters highlights last week, one young US golf writer had the temerity to suggest that he had never seen Norman play a good round of golf, highlights serving as a reminder of how many majors the Great White Shark could have won in his career.

But for those few crushing defeats there were countless other rounds and tournaments where Norman played simply breathtaking golf.

His 64 in the final round of the 1993 British Open at Royal St George’s stands today as one of the best in championship history, Norman himself admitting that the only shot he mis-hit all day was a short putt at the 17th hole.

A year later Norman again put one of golf’s strongest fields to the sword, opening with a 9-under par round of 63 and setting new records for 36, 54 and 72-hole scores as he won THE PLAYERS Championship by six strokes.

Back in Australia, Norman was a tour de force from the time he won the 1976 West Lakes Classic until the 1998 Greg Norman Holden International and beyond.

Crowds rivalling that of major championships poured into Australian golf courses simply to see Norman play, his magnetism and standing in world golf helping to bring the world’s best to our shores to face the Shark in his own waters.

Former Australian Golf Union supremo Colin Phillips once said that Australian golf would surge again when the next Greg Norman came along; the truth is we may never see a force of nature of his type ever again.

As Norman emerged in the mid-1970s Stewart Ginn was established as one of the country’s finest players.

Runner-up to Randall Vines when the Australian PGA Championship reverted to a matchplay format for one year in 1973, Ginn was one of the trailblazers who forged their careers in Europe and on the Asian circuit, winning the Malaysian Open twice and on the Japan Golf Tour on one occasion.

Recording his first tournament victory at the 1983 Tasmanian Open, Ginn enjoyed success throughout the world, winning the Martini International on the European Tour, the 1979 New Zealand Open and 1992 Indian Open before embarking on a stellar senior career.

Along with Peter Thomson and Graham Marsh Ginn is one of only three Aussies to win a senior major championship, claiming the 2002 Ford Senior Players Championship, and also enjoyed victory on the European Seniors Tour, winning the 2008 Azores Senior Open, 25 years after his first professional victory.

Greg Norman                                                                
Career wins: 89
Major wins: 2 (British Open 1986, 1993)
Australasian Tour wins: 32
Australian Open: Won (1980, 1985, 1987, 1995, 1996)
Australian PGA: Won (1984, 1985)

Stewart Ginn
Career wins: 19
Senior Major wins: 1 (Senior Players Championship 2002)
Australasian Tour wins: 11
Australian Open: 6th (1981)
Australian PGA: Won (1979)