Greg Norman said on Tuesday he was looking forward to leaving golf's no-man's zone and tackling the seniors' tour as a rookie this year. The Australian golfing great turns 50 on February 10 and so is eligible to play in lucrative seniors' tournaments after a professional career which netted him the 1986 and 1993 British Opens.
The Shark, here for this week's European Tour co-sanctioned Heineken Classic at Royal Melbourne along with Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie, Stuart Appleby, Adam Scott, Nick Faldo, Thomas Bjorn and Peter Lonard, said he felt like a rookie starting all over again.
"I have never felt more at peace with myself," Norman said at a pre-tournament press conference Tuesday.
"The last two years have been the best of my life. I've really got a lot of things under control - turning 50 is great.
"I have done a tremendous job of physically keeping my back in shape, this gives me the ability to play the tournaments this year that I would like to play.
"The worst part is the five-year dead period beforehand when you're wallowing around in a no-man's zone.
Norman said he had spoken last month with former major winner Raymond Floyd about what to expect on the seniors' tour.