Mark O'Meara


Mark Francis O'Meara is an American 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 was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015.

Early years

O'Meara was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina, but grew up in southern California in Mission Viejo. 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. He was an All-American at Long Beach State, and won the U.S. Amateur in 1979, defeating defending champion John Cook 8 & 7 in the final. He also won the California State Amateur Championship that year.
O'Meara was a former resident of Orlando, Florida and lived in the same neighborhood as Tiger Woods. The two became good friends and frequently golfed together during this time. O'Meara now resides in Houston, Texas.

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. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am five times, but he passed his 41st birthday in January 1998 without having won a major championship as a professional.
In a late finale to his PGA Tour winning career, O'Meara won two majors in 1998, The Masters and the British Open. O'Meara's victory in The Masters came at 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.

Champions Tour

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.

Amateur wins

PGA Tour wins (16)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Sep 16, 1984Greater Milwaukee Open67-68-69-68=272−165 strokes Tom Watson
2Feb 3, 1985Bing Crosby National Pro-Am70-72-68-73=283−51 stroke Kikuo Arai, Larry Rinker,
Curtis Strange
3Feb 10, 1985Hawaiian Open67-66-65-69=267−211 stroke Craig Stadler
4Jan 29, 1989AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am 66-68-73-70=277−111 stroke Tom Kite
5Feb 4, 1990AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am 67-73-69-72=281−72 strokes Kenny Perry
6Oct 7, 1990H.E.B. Texas Open64-68-66-63=261−191 stroke Gary Hallberg
7Oct 19, 1991Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic66-66-71-64=267−211 stroke David Peoples
8Feb 2, 1992AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am 69-68-68-70=275−13Playoff Jeff Sluman
9Mar 12, 1995Honda Classic68-65-71-71=275−91 stroke Nick Faldo
10Sep 10, 1995Bell Canadian Open72-67-68-67=274−14Playoff Bob Lohr
11Jan 7, 1996Mercedes Championships68-69-66-68=271−173 strokes Nick Faldo, Scott Hoch
12Apr 28, 1996Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic75-68-62-69=274−142 strokes Duffy Waldorf
13Feb 2, 1997AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am 67-67-67-67=268−201 stroke David Duval, Tiger Woods
14Feb 9, 1997Buick Invitational67-66-71-71=275−132 strokes David Ogrin, Donnie Hammond,
Jesper Parnevik, Craig Stadler,
Lee Janzen, Mike Hulbert,
Duffy Waldorf
15Apr 12, 1998Masters Tournament74-70-68-67=279−91 stroke Fred Couples, David Duval
16Jul 19, 1998The Open Championship72-68-72-68=280EPlayoff Brian Watts

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11981Tallahassee Open Dave Eichelberger, Bob MurphyEichelberger won with birdie on first extra hole
21983Phoenix Open Rex Caldwell, Bob Gilder,
Johnny Miller		Gilder won with birdie on eighth extra hole
Miller and O'Meara eliminated with birdie on second hole
31991Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Corey PavinLost to birdie on first extra hole
41992Bob Hope Chrysler Classic John Cook, Rick Fehr,
Tom Kite, Gene Sauers		Cook won with eagle on fourth extra hole
Fehr eliminated with birdie on second hole
Kite and O'Meara eliminated with birdie on first hole
51992AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Jeff SlumanWon with par on first extra hole
61995Bell Canadian Open Bob LohrWon with par on first extra hole
71998The Open Championship Brian WattsWon four-hole aggregate playoff;
O'Meara: −1,
Watts: +1

European Tour wins (5)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Aug 23, 1987Lawrence Batley International71-64-70-66=271−173 strokes Carl Mason
2Sep 14, 1997Trophée Lancôme69-67-66-69=271−131 stroke Jarmo Sandelin
3Apr 12, 1998Masters Tournament74-70-68-67=279−91 stroke Fred Couples, David Duval
4Jul 19, 1998The Open Championship72-68-72-68=280EPlayoff Brian Watts
5Mar 7, 2004Dubai Desert Classic70-64-68-69=271−171 stroke Paul McGinley

European Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11998The Open Championship Brian WattsWon four-hole aggregate playoff;
O'Meara: −1,
Watts: +1

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

South American Tour wins (1)

Other playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11985Isuzu Kapalua International Corey PavinWon with birdie on third extra hole
21994Fred Meyer Challenge
 Ben Crenshaw and Phil MickelsonWon with par on second extra hole
32000Fred Meyer Challenge
 David Frost and Jim FurykWon with birdie on first extra hole

PGA Tour Champions wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Apr 25, 2010Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf
62-64-62=188−28Playoff John Cook and Joey Sindelar
2Oct 10, 2010Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship68-68-69-68=273−7Playoff Michael Allen
3Mar 3, 2019Cologuard Classic66-70-66=202−174 strokes Willie Wood, Darren Clarke,
Kirk Triplett, Scott McCarron

PGA Tour Champions playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
12010Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf
 John Cook and Joey SindelarWon with par on second extra hole
22010Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship Michael AllenWon with par on first extra hole
32011Songdo IBD Championship Jay Don Blake, John Cook,
Peter Senior		Blake won with birdie on fifth extra hole
O'Meara and Senior eliminated with par on third hole
42012Boeing Classic Jay Don BlakeLost to birdie on second extra hole

Major championships

Wins (2)

1Defeated Brian Watts in 4-hole playoff: O'Meara, Watts

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

CUT = missed the halfway cut

WD = withdrew

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
WD = Withdrew
NT = No tournament

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

1Defeated Allen in a sudden-death playoff.

Senior results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2017.
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

Professional