YOU'D have thought the world's two top-ranked players would know better. Sadly not. For there can be no hiding the fact that the dubious actions of Nick Price and Greg Norman during last weekend's Alfred Dunhill Challenge were as ill-advised as they were indefensible. For much of the final day of the inaugural staging of the Southern Hemisphere's version of the Ryder Cup, the outcome between nine-man teams from Southern Africa and Australasia appeared likely to hinge on the result of the eagerly-awaited singles match-up between Price and Norman. Described as 'the clash of the decade' by South African newspapers, there was never more than one hole between them.
And when Norman won the 15th to get back to all square, Australasian hopes of pulling off an improbable victory became a distinct possibility. Those expectations rose further at the 16th. Although neither player managed to make the green in regulation, Norman chipped his third shot to about eight feet, while Price was almost double that distance away, also in three. It was a crucial moment in the overall scheme of things. Yet, to the surprise and far from unanimous approval of the galleries, the two men conceded each other's putts and settled for a half. They left the green smiling arm-in-arm. But Norman's smug smirk was wiped from his face when he came to grief at the final hole, finding the left rough with his drive and failing to make the green.
Price safely made his par and with Hendrik Buhrmann dormie-three against Mike Clayton, Norman had to hole his 18-footer to halve the hole and his game to keep the match alive. His ball missed on the left . . . and with it went Australasia's final chance.
The 14-11 score in favour of the Southern Africans meant that Norman's loss did not - on paper at least - influence the final outcome.
We will never know, though, what might have happened if Norman had won the 16th and gone on to defeat Price. It is sad that the incident involving Norman and Price should overshadow what otherwise was a hugely successful tournament that many believe, given time, will grow into the equal of the Ryder Cup. What made the matter even more distasteful was that, by the admission of Price, it was pre-meditated.
Without a hint of remorse, Price confessed that he and his good friend Norman had decided prior to their match that they would pull such a stunt. His argument was unconvincing. 'This is a great event. I would hate it to end up like the Ryder Cup where you have players who are normally friendly not even talking to each other because of things that happened,' he said, citing the much-publicised feud between Ballesteros and Azinger. 'We both played that hole [the 16th] so badly. So when Greg said 'let's go', I agreed.