The dominant player in professional golf for much of his career, Greg Norman has been a true marquee golfer since the mid-1980s.

Nicknamed The Great White Shark, the native Australian during his prime held the worlds No. 1 ranking for a span of 331 consecutive weeks. Norman has won 20 times in his PGA Tour career and has won 88 titles worldwide. His two most notable victories came at the British Open, in 1986 and again in 1993.

At the 86 Open at Turnberry Links in Scotland, Norman shot a second-round 63, which is still tied for the lowest round in British Open history. In 93 at Royal St. Georges Golf Club, Norman fired a final-round 64, a record for lowest score on the final 18 holes of a British Open.

The Shark was the leading money winner on the PGA Tour in 1986, 1990 and 1995, and he held the best scoring average on tour in five separate seasons.

But Norman is also known for his memorable near misses, especially at the Masters.

At Augusta National in 1986, Jack Nicklaus shot a final-round 65 to overtake Norman by a stroke. The following year, Norman lost the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to Larry Mize, who famously chipped in from 45 yards for birdie while Norman missed his birdie putt. And finally, in 1996, Norman lost his six-stroke third-round lead to Nick Faldo.

In all, Norman has finished runner-up in majors eight times and is one of only two players to have competed in and lost a playoff in all four major championships.

Norman, who is married to former tennis star Chris Evert, has played infrequently on the Champions Tour since he turned 50 in 2005. He opted instead to focus on his business ventures that include a line of wines, sportswear, and a golf-course design and development company. The 2009 Jeld-Wen Tradition will mark just his 11th start on the over-50 circuit and his first in The Tradition.

But Norman has played increasingly since he memorably tied for third place, six strokes behind winner Padraig Harrington, at the 2008 British Open at Royal Birkdale Golf Club. This year, Norman has played in five Champions Tour tournaments and three events on the PGA Tour.

His two top-10 finishes on the Champions Tour this year have come in his last two tournaments this summer, the Senior British Open (tied for sixth place) and the U.S. Senior Open (tied for fourth). In both tournaments Norman was in contention until the final round, and he had the third-round lead at the Senior British Open.

Zack Hall