ON THAT fateful Sunday at Augusta National, we sat there in the media centre marvelling at the dignity and composure of the man. Many of us were moved close to tears when Greg Norman exclaimed: "God, I'd love to be putting on that green jacket." Then, as if sensing our discomfiture, he quickly added: "But it's not the end of the world for me. My life is going to continue."

Of course, he was right. Here we are, almost 12 months on, and the Shark has added two more tournament victories, including the Andersen Consulting World Championship, to his formidable haul. The man's truly a marvel.

Whatever one's misgivings about Nor man's competitive qualities, there can be no doubting his extraordinary resilience and innate courtesy. So it was that he agreed not alone to grant me an interview, but to talk frankly about the spectacular collapse which saw him squander a six stroke lead to Nick Faldo in the final round of the 1996 US Masters.

According to Faldo, one of the defining elements in that climactic battle actually happened the previous day when the Englishman birdied the 17th hole to end the third round on 209 - in second place on seven under par and a stroke ahead of Phil Mickelson. It meant he would be partnering Norman over the final 18.

"I think if you're right there, you can keep a close eye on things," said Faldo recently. "And by playing with him (Norman), you can gauge things so much better, like if you happen to get a couple of shots closer. It was unquestionably crucial for me to play with him on Sunday."

Yet, when we talked, the Shark emphatically rejected any notion of a so called Faldo factor. In fact, the identity of his final round playing partner seemed to be of no consequence to him, despite some bitter experiences with the Englishman, notably in the 1990 British Open and the 1992 Johnnie Walker World Championship.

Having turned for reassurance to his wife, Laura, who was standing by his side, he fixed me with his penetrating, pale blue eyes. "When I awoke that Sunday morning - and Laura will testify to this - I was calm, I was cool and I was relaxed," he said. "We did all the normal things. There wasn't one thing in my head that was likely to throw me.

Now that the ice was broken, it quickly became clear that he had no problem in discussing what he acknowledged at the time to be the most disappointing single round of his career. "People think that after a setback, it takes you a while to get your game into shape," he said. "But my philosophy is once a competitor always a competitor. It's like riding a bike.

"I meant it when I said last year that it wasn't the end of the world for me. I had a was going to come out of it and I still believe that. I saw it simply as a test.

"I've had a lot of reporters write to me saying how impressed they were with my interview after last year's Masters. Those type of things are nice. And sure, it's going to be interesting when I go back there this year. In fact, it's already started, with the fan mail coming in."

He then talked of the enormous fund of goodwill that he experienced from the general public, golfing and otherwise. "Before leaving home recently, I had 10 boxes of mail to answer," he explained. "Mail from people wishing me well and telling me `Do it this time'. Stuff pretty much like that."

So, he was mentally heading down Magnolia Lane for a 17th successive Masters challenge since 1981, when he finished fourth behind Tom Watson on his Augusta debut. "Oh sure," he agreed. "I'm not lying about that. Sure I'm building towards Augusta."

But Norman added the qualification: "The point is that I'm not thinking about the Masters as such. Instead, I'm building my schedule play wise so that my game will be ready at that stage. For example, I've arranged it so that I'm now going to play New Orleans, the week before Augusta.

"I felt it would be important for me to play myself into the Masters instead of having a week off, with all that that entails. Being at home and having all those requests for interviews and blah blah ....... I reckon I'll feel more comfortable on the golf course."

He intends to further protect himself by declining to read any newspaper or magazine articles about the game. He has also instructed that no golf magazines be delivered to his home at Hobe Sound, Florida, and should one slip through the net, Laura will hide it.

"A lot of the stuff written about me is totally untrue," he said. "And it has the effect of hurting me and hurting my family. But where returning to Augusta is concerned, I'm not afraid to confront the situation in a physical sense.

"I'm not going to walk away from playing in the Masters. I was prepared to face the music after what happened a year ago and I've no intention of hiding now, though that's probably the only way I could avoid everything that goes with it.

"If I were to do that, you could imagine what people would write about then. So I take things on the chin. When I make my own mistakes, I take it on the chin. I accept the responsibility for screwing up, not only on the golf course but off the golf course. I believe it helps make me a better person."

While he talked in his typically dynamic manner, always maintaining eye contact, I found myself momentarily forgetting the presence of his wife, who remained silent throughout. Yet Norman repeatedly acknowledged her presence through a nod, a smile, or a gentle pat with his hand.

Even in silence, she exuded strength. It was easy to understand how this former airline stewardess played such a dominant role in her husband's recovery from the crushing, emotional trauma of last April when he came to grief on a relentless course which held nothing but painful memories for him.

"You see, what happened at Augusta last year was physical - it wasn't mental," continued Norman. "I can honestly tell you that. It became mental on about the ninth hole when I missed that second shot by 18 inches.

"I thought a lot about it afterwards. When that happened on the ninth (where his approach shot spun back and off the front of the green for a bogey), I knew my swing wasn't doing what my mind wanted it to do. And I knew every shot was just a little bit off. So then it became a mind thing for me. I started pushing.

"As I see things now, the problem was more physical for the first eight and a half holes. It became mental from then on because I kept pushing myself. Pushing myself. And you can't do that in this game. Especially, you can't do it around Augusta".

"The combination of both those things brought the worst possible outcome. I'm not a negative person but as each hole went by it became harder and harder not to let that negative feeling take hold. I've thought long and hard about it and that's the way I have, figured things out. Basically, there's nothing more to say."

But there was, though not specifically about Masters 1996. I suggested the experience might have given him a greater sensitivity with regard to the pain of others. This certainly appeared to be the case during his recent appearance in Dubai, where he was especially caring in his comments about the troubled Spaniards, Jose Maria Olazabal and Seve Ballesteros.

Reluctantly, he admitted that he had written letters to Olazabal and phoned him a few times in the course of his illness and consequent absence from the game. "When somebody's down and out, I'm the first to try to get them back up again," he said. "I see myself more as a giver than a taker.

"My life's not an open book and I can only answer the questions I'm asked. That's why there are such sharp contrasts in the manner the media write about me. Because they see that I am a little bit well. .. cocky or arrogant or thinking I'm the best in the world.

"But a top player has got to have that. There's not one player, whatever the sport, who doesn't have ego. And sure, I have been, hurt from time to time by the way people have interpreted that. I also get upset with so, much repetition. Instead of asking me about the good things I've done, or am likely to do, they just keep harping on the negative. I don't understand that, really."

The Shark was clearly warming to this particular subject. "You pick up any newspaper any day and it's more negative than it's, positive. Who's killing who, what earthquake has happened and all that stuff. I know that we must accept this as the way of the world, but it gets frustrating just the same.

"Maybe I'm my own worst enemy, but it's my nature to lay things out this way. I say what I believe. Sometimes, that's not the right thing to do, but you've got to have the courage and the confidence to do so. At the end of the day, you can't help thinking that it would be nice, once in a while, if people were to talk about the good that you've done and it hasn't all been necessarily on the golf course.

"As for my golf: the determination and desire is still there and I have the bonus of a clear mind as a result of a three month winter break. I don't think I've reached my full potential yet and I reckon I'll be saying the same thing the day I retire.

"But when the time comes to put the clubs away, and I look back on my career, it, won't be about the number of tournaments I've won or what tournaments I've won. It will about the fact that I tried to be the best I could be as a golfer, the best I could be as a husband, as a father, as a businessman and, hopefully, as a role model for kids.

"Golf is a great game and it's been very good to Laura and me. But if I can be satisfied that I've done those things, I know I can sit back and say `Yeah, I've done a pretty good job'. I don't think I would have to change anything to be able to say that, at the end of the day."

Then, by way of stressing the unfairness of taking his Masters collapse out of context, Norman went on: "People like to put you under a microscope as if to say `Okay, let's see what he's like right here over these 18 holes'. And if you don't prove what you're supposed to prove in that test, then you're not a good person. The fact is that there's more to life than just playing golf and winning."

In the meantime, he is ready to face Augusta and another attempt at donning that fiendishly elusive green jacket. "I have no ghosts in the closet and no fears of going back there," he said. "Sure, I want to win the Masters. Indeed I'd also like to win the British Open every year and the US Open as, well."

Then, turning toward's his wife, the Shark concluded: "At the end of it all, however, the real rewards for me are the rewards I get outside the game." As he and Laura strolled away hand in hand, I had no difficulty believing him.