Mark O'Meara
Mark Francis O'Meara is an American retired professional golfer. He was a tournament winner on the PGA Tour and around the world from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. He spent nearly 200 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking from their debut in 1986 to 2000. He won two major championships, the 1998 Masters Tournament and the 1998 Open Championship, becoming the oldest player to win two majors in one year. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015.
Early life
O'Meara was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina specifically in Mission Viejo, California. He took up golf at age 13, sneaking on to the nearby . O'Meara later became an employee of the club and played on his high school golf team.O'Meara was an All-American at Long Beach State, and won the U.S. Amateur in 1979, defeating defending champion John Cook, 8 and 7, in the final. He also won the California State Amateur Championship that year.
Professional career
After graduating with a degree in marketing in 1980, O'Meara turned professional and would win 16 events on the PGA Tour, beginning with the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1984, and the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am five times. His best year as a professional golfer came relatively late in his career – in 1998 at age 41 – when he won two majors: The Masters and the British Open. O'Meara's victory in The Masters came during his 15th attempt. O'Meara attributed this resurgence partly to the inspiration of working with Tiger Woods, the new superstar of the game at the time, with whom O'Meara had become good friends. In the same year, he won the Cisco World Match Play Championship and reached a career best of second in the Official World Golf Ranking.O'Meara is known for competing outside the United States more often than most leading American golfers, and has won tournaments in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. A man with a genial demeanor, he is one of the most popular figures in international golf. In the new millennium his form took a downturn and he began to struggle with injuries, but in 2004 he won an official tour event for the first time since 1998, taking the Dubai Desert Classic title, which despite being played in the Middle East is a European Tour event.
After the European Tour tournament Lancome Trophy at Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, 30 km west of Paris, France in September 1997, which was won by O'Meara, he was involved in a controversy. Runner-up was Jarmo Sandelin of Sweden. A television viewer in Sweden observed that, on the 15th green in the final round, O'Meara, facing a two and a half foot putt, had replaced his ball half an inch closer to the hole than had been indicated by his marker. Sandelin wrote to O'Meara in March 1998, sent a video recording of the incident and asked for an explanation. O'Meara insisted he had not intended to gain any advantage and sought advice from the PGA and European Tours, who informed him that the tournament was over and the result stood. Sandelin went public with the story and demanded that O'Meara should hand back the trophy and the prize money. O'Meara admitted in April 1998, he may, without intention, have broken the rules of golf on his way to winning the 1997 Lancome Trophy.
Senior career
In 2007, O'Meara began play on the Champions Tour; he had many top-10 finishes in his first three seasons including several runner-up finishes, but no wins. In 2010, he broke through with a win in the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf with Nick Price, followed by his first senior major victory in the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. O'Meara was sidelined by a rib injury for several months starting in April 2012; he missed the majors on both tours and did not compete until August.O'Meara has begun to develop a golf course design practice and enjoys fishing in his off time. He is currently a brand ambassador for Pacific Links International. In March 2019, O'Meara won the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Arizona. He shot a final round seven-under 66, to win by four shots. This win ended an eight-year win drought on the PGA Tour Champions.
O'Meara retired in September 2024 after the PURE Insurance Championship, having announced that it would be his last professional event, and missing the cut.
Personal life
O'Meara was a former resident of Orlando, Florida and once lived in the same neighborhood as Tiger Woods. The two became good friends and frequently golfed together during this time. Today, O'Meara resides in Southern Highlands, Nevada.Awards and recognition
- In 1981, O'Meara earned PGA Tour Rookie of the Year
- In 1998, he received that year's BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, an award given to a non-British sportsperson considered to have made the most substantial contribution to a sport in a year.
- In 1998, O'Meara earned PGA Tour Player of the Year honors
- In 1998, he earned PGA Player of the Year honors
- In 2015, O'Meara was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Amateur wins
Professional wins (34)
PGA Tour wins (16)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Sep 16, 1984 | Greater Milwaukee Open | 67-68-69-68=272 | −16 | 5 strokes |  European Tour wins (5)
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