THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Greg Norman has won 18 times on the PGA Tour, he has won more than 50 times around the world and he has won two British Opens. But that was with his old shoulder, before he had surgery that put his left shoulder back together.

It has been seven months since Norman walked disgustedly off the Masters course after he missed the cut, his shoulder aching, his arm numb, his future uncertain.

So when Norman plays his first competitive round since then at the Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout beginning today, one of golf's superstars will start to find the answer to what could be a troubling question: Will Norman continue to be a force in the game at 43 or is he one surgery the other side of being relevant?

"All I care about now is to go out and play the kind of golf I'm capable of playing," he said. "If I do well, I'll be happy. If I don't, I'll still be happy because I know I've done all I can.

"I don't have any lack of confidence. I have no reservations or qualms about getting out here playing."

Pub Date: 11/13/98