Mark O'Meara

O'Meara was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina and grew up in Mission Viejo, California. He took up golf at age 13, sneaking on to the nearby Mission Viejo Country Club. 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,^[4] and won the U.S. Amateur in 1979, defeating defending champion John Cook, 8 and 7, in the final.^[5][6][7][8] He also won the California State Amateur Championship that year.

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.^[9] 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. 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 Lancome Trophy tournament at Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche in September 1997, which was won by O'Meara, he was involved in a controversy. 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. Tournament runner-up Jarmo Sandelin of Sweden wrote to O'Meara in March 1998, sending a video recording of the incident and asking 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 hand back the trophy and the prize money.^[10] O'Meara admitted in April 1998 that he may have, without intention, misplaced the ball.^[11]

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.^[15]

• 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.^[16]
• 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.^[3]

• 1979 U.S. Amateur, California State Amateur Championship

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

¹Cancelled due to 9/11

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
WD = Withdrew
NT = No tournament

Professional

• Alfred Dunhill Cup: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1996 (winners), 1997, 1998, 1999
• Ryder Cup: 1985, 1989 (tie), 1991 (winners), 1997, 1999 (winners)
• Nissan Cup: 1985 (winners)
• Presidents Cup: 1996 (winners), 1998
• World Cup: 1999 (winners)
• UBS Cup: 2001 (winners), 2002 (winners), 2003 (tie)

• Fall 1980 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• List of golfers with most wins in one PGA Tour event