Australian sport icon Greg Norman is poised to make a stunning return to major championship golf at the 150th British Open, to be played at St Andrew in July.
Greg Norman is on the verge of making an extraordinary return to the Open Championship, more than a decade after he last competed in a major.
The 67-year-old two-time Open champion has told News Corp that he is planning to tee it up in golf's oldest major at St Andrews in July.
"I'm filling out the entry form now," Norman was quoted saying. "I think I'm going."
Norman, who famously won the Claret Jug in 1986 and 1993 and tied-for third in 2008 having held the third-round lead at the age of 53, has not played a major since 2009 -- missing the cut at The Masters and then the Open.
While he no longer qualifies for automatic entry as a past champion -- one of only four Australian winners of the Open -- because the guaranteed entry cuts off for past champions at the age of 60, Norman is unlikely to go through qualifying to earn his place but instead is more likely to seek a special exemption as the tournament celebrates its milestone 150th edition.
"It's the 150th, I'm a past Open champion, I love St Andrews," Norman said.
"If there's a moment in time that I would consider going back and teeing off one last time. Maybe this is it."
It is a far cry for the sentiments Norman shared in the book Aussies At The Open: Australia's tales and triumphs from 150 years of The Open Championship.
"I've people asking me, 'Why won't I go play St Andrews this year?' It's one of my favourite golf courses in the world and I look at my schedule and go, 'That would be a pretty cool thing to do'," he said.
"Am I really going to go there and play? No.
"I just don't want to get on the first tee and be that ceremonial golfer. I just don't want to do that. It's just not in my DNA.
"So I just quietly say no to everybody."
A popular figure with fans during his prime, who drew massive galleries, a Norman return at the home of golf would be a major storyline -- with his image tarnished recently by his involvement in setting up a Saudi-backed rebel golf league that has rocked the establishment.
As the spearhead of a breakaway tour funded by Saudi Arabia, Norman has been accused of turning a blind eye to human rights abuses but strongly refutes the claims.
"We are here to play golf, serve fans, grow the game, and give additional opportunities to players," he has said.
