Mark O'Meara

For the Florida criminal defense attorney associated with the Trayvon Martin case, see Mark O'Mara.

Mark O'Meara
O'Meara in 2005
Personal information
Full name	Mark Francis O'Meara
Born	(1957-01-13) January 13, 1957 (age 67) Goldsboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Southern Highlands, Nevada, U.S.
Spouse	Alicia Lauria O'Meara ​ ​ (m. 1980;div. 2009)​ Meredith O'Meara
Children	3
Career
College	Long Beach State University
Turned professional	1980
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	34
Highest ranking	2 (September 6, 1998) [1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	16
European Tour	5
Japan Golf Tour	2
PGA Tour of Australasia	1
PGA Tour Champions	3
Other	9
Best results in major championships (wins: 2)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1998
PGA Championship	T4: 1998
U.S. Open	T3: 1988
The Open Championship	Won: 1998
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 2015 (member page) PGA Tour Rookie of the Year 1981 PGA Tour Player of the Year 1998 PGA Player of the Year 1998

Mark Francis O'Meara (born January 13, 1957) 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. ^[2] He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015. ^[3]

Early years

O'Meara was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina, but grew up in southern California, specifically in Mission Viejo. 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. He 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.

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. ^[9]

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. ^[10] 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. ^[11] 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. ^[12]

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. ^{[13] [14]}

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. ^[15]

Awards and recognition

Following his two major wins in 1998, O'Meara 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] He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015. ^[3]

Amateur wins

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

Professional wins (34)

PGA Tour wins (16)

Legend
Major championships (2)
Other PGA Tour (14)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Sep 16, 1984	Greater Milwaukee Open	67-68-69-68=272	−16	5 strokes	Tom Watson
2	Feb 3, 1985	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	70-72-68-73=283	−5	1 stroke	Kikuo Arai, Larry Rinker, Curtis Strange
3	Feb 10, 1985	Hawaiian Open	67-66-65-69=267	−21	1 stroke	Craig Stadler
4	Jan 29, 1989	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (2)	66-68-73-70=277	−11	1 stroke	Tom Kite
5	Feb 4, 1990	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (3)	67-73-69-72=281	−7	2 strokes	Kenny Perry
6	Oct 7, 1990	H.E.B. Texas Open	64-68-66-63=261	−19	1 stroke	Gary Hallberg
7	Oct 19, 1991	Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic	66-66-71-64=267	−21	1 stroke	David Peoples
8	Feb 2, 1992	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (4)	69-68-68-70=275	−13	Playoff	Jeff Sluman
9	Mar 12, 1995	Honda Classic	68-65-71-71=275	−9	1 stroke	Nick Faldo
10	Sep 10, 1995	Bell Canadian Open	72-67-68-67=274	−14	Playoff	Bob Lohr
11	Jan 7, 1996	Mercedes Championships	68-69-66-68=271	−17	3 strokes	Nick Faldo, Scott Hoch
12	Apr 28, 1996	Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic	75-68-62-69=274	−14	2 strokes	Duffy Waldorf
13	Feb 2, 1997	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (5)	67-67-67-67=268	−20	1 stroke	David Duval, Tiger Woods
14	Feb 9, 1997	Buick Invitational	67-66-71-71=275	−13	2 strokes	David Ogrin, Donnie Hammond, Jesper Parnevik, Craig Stadler, Lee Janzen, Mike Hulbert, Duffy Waldorf
15	Apr 12, 1998	Masters Tournament	74-70-68-67=279	−9	1 stroke	Fred Couples, David Duval
16	Jul 19, 1998	The Open Championship	72-68-72-68=280	E	Playoff	Brian Watts

PGA Tour playoff record (3–4)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1981	Tallahassee Open	Dave Eichelberger, Bob Murphy	Eichelberger won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1983	Phoenix Open	Rex Caldwell, Bob Gilder, Johnny Miller	Gilder won with birdie on eighth extra hole Miller and O'Meara eliminated by birdie on second hole
3	1991	Bob Hope Chrysler Classic	Corey Pavin	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
4	1992	Bob Hope Chrysler Classic	John Cook, Rick Fehr, Tom Kite, Gene Sauers	Cook won with eagle on fourth extra hole Fehr eliminated by birdie on second hole Kite and O'Meara eliminated by birdie on first hole
5	1992	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am	Jeff Sluman	Won with par on first extra hole
6	1995	Bell Canadian Open	Bob Lohr	Won with par on first extra hole
7	1998	The Open Championship	Brian Watts	Won four-hole aggregate playoff; O'Meara: −1 (4-4-5-4=17), Watts: +1 (5-4-5-5=19)

European Tour wins (5)

Legend
Major championships (2)
Other European Tour (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Aug 23, 1987	Lawrence Batley International	71-64-70-66=271	−17	3 strokes	Carl Mason
2	Sep 14, 1997	Trophée Lancôme	69-67-66-69=271	−13	1 stroke	Jarmo Sandelin
3	Apr 12, 1998	Masters Tournament	74-70-68-67=279	−9	1 stroke	Fred Couples, David Duval
4	Jul 19, 1998	The Open Championship	72-68-72-68=280	E	Playoff	Brian Watts
5	Mar 7, 2004	Dubai Desert Classic	70-64-68-69=271	−17	1 stroke	Paul McGinley

European Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1998	The Open Championship	Brian Watts	Won four-hole aggregate playoff; O'Meara: −1 (4-4-5-4=17), Watts: +1 (5-4-5-5=19)

PGA of Japan Tour wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	May 12, 1985	Fujisankei Classic	67-67-66-73=273	−11	3 strokes	Masashi Ozaki
2	Oct 4, 1992	Tokai Classic	66-68-72-71=277	−11	1 stroke	Tom Kite

PGA Tour of Australia wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Feb 23, 1986	Australian Masters	74-66-71-73=284	−8	1 stroke	David Graham

South American Tour wins (1)

• 1994 Argentine Open

Other wins (8)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Nov 16, 1985	Isuzu Kapalua International	67-70-70-68=275	−13	Playoff	Corey Pavin
2	Nov 19, 1989	RMCC Invitational (with Curtis Strange)	66-62-62=190	−26	6 strokes	Bernhard Langer and John Mahaffey, Lanny Wadkins and Tom Weiskopf
3	Aug 23, 1994	Fred Meyer Challenge (with John Cook)	63-62=125	−17	Playoff	Ben Crenshaw and Phil Mickelson
4	Oct 18, 1998	Cisco World Match Play Championship	1 up			Tiger Woods
5	Nov 29, 1998	Skins Game	$405,000		$10,000	Tom Lehman
6	Nov 21, 1999	World Cup of Golf (with Tiger Woods)	140-133-130-142=545	−23	5 strokes	Spain − Santiago Luna and Miguel Ángel Martín
7	Aug 8, 2000	Fred Meyer Challenge (2) (with John Cook)	64-61=125	−19	Playoff	David Frost and Jim Furyk
8	Dec 1, 2002	Skins Game (2)	$405,000		$105,000	Phil Mickelson

Other playoff record (3–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1985	Isuzu Kapalua International	Corey Pavin	Won with birdie on third extra hole
2	1994	Fred Meyer Challenge (with John Cook)	Ben Crenshaw and Phil Mickelson	Won with par on second extra hole
3	2000	Fred Meyer Challenge (with John Cook)	David Frost and Jim Furyk	Won with birdie on first extra hole

PGA Tour Champions wins (3)

Legend
PGA Tour Champions major championships (1)
Other Champions Tour (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Apr 25, 2010	Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf (with Nick Price)	62-64-62=188	−28	Playoff	John Cook and Joey Sindelar
2	Oct 10, 2010	Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship	68-68-69-68=273	−7	Playoff	Michael Allen
3	Mar 3, 2019	Cologuard Classic	66-70-66=202	−17	4 strokes	Darren Clarke, Scott McCarron, Kirk Triplett, Willie Wood

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (2–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	2010	Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf (with Nick Price)	John Cook and Joey Sindelar	Won with par on second extra hole
2	2010	Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship	Michael Allen	Won with par on first extra hole
3	2011	Songdo IBD Championship	Jay Don Blake, John Cook, Peter Senior	Blake won with birdie on fifth extra hole O'Meara and Senior eliminated by par on third hole
4	2012	Boeing Classic	Jay Don Blake	Lost to birdie on second extra hole

Major championships

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	To par	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1998	Masters Tournament	2 shot deficit	74-70-68-67=279	−9	1 stroke	Fred Couples, David Duval
1998	The Open Championship	2 shot deficit	72-68-72-68=280	E	Playoff1	Brian Watts

¹Defeated Brian Watts in 4-hole playoff: O'Meara (4-4-5-4=17), Watts (5-4-5-5=19)

Results timeline

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	CUT					24	48	T24	T39	T11
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	58		T7	T15	T41	CUT	T3	CUT
The Open Championship		T47				T3	T43	T66	27	T42
PGA Championship		T70		CUT	T25	T28	CUT	CUT	T9	CUT

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	CUT	T27	T4	T21	T15	T31	T18	T30	1	T31
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT		T16	T36	T32	CUT
The Open Championship	T48	T3	T12	CUT		T49	T33	T38	1	CUT
PGA Championship	T19	CUT	CUT	CUT		T6	T26	T13	T4	T57

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Masters Tournament	CUT	T20	CUT	T8	T27	T31	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	T51	CUT	T18	T35					CUT
The Open Championship	T26	T42	T22	T65	T30	CUT	T63	T60	CUT	T70
PGA Championship	T46	T22	CUT	CUT	CUT

Tournament	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT		CUT	CUT	T22	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship	CUT	CUT		T58		T78	T63	CUT
PGA Championship

  Win

  Top 10

  Did not play

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

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	1	0	0	2	3	11	34	19
U.S. Open	0	0	1	1	2	5	23	11
The Open Championship	1	0	2	3	3	5	31	24
PGA Championship	0	0	0	1	3	7	22	12
Totals	2	0	3	7	11	28	110	66

• Most consecutive cuts made – 11 (1995 Masters – 1999 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1998 Open Championship – 1998 PGA)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
The Players Championship	T26	T77	T49	T5	T17	T33	3	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
The Players Championship	WD	CUT	T9	5	CUT	CUT	T29	T70	T42	T6

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
The Players Championship	T9	CUT	CUT	CUT

Tournament	2010	2011
The Players Championship		74

  Top 10

  Did not play

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

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Match Play	R64	R32
Championship			NT1
Invitational	T25	T27				T72

¹Cancelled due to 9/11

  Did not play

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

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	To par	Margin	Runner-up
2010	Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship	68-68-69-68=273	−7	Playoff	Michael Allen

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2022.

Tournament	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
The Tradition	T14	T31	T11	T38	T12		T36	T35	T38	T17	T40	T13		NT	72	T54
Senior PGA Championship	T12	T24	T14	4	T18		4		T45	T14	T46	T38		NT	T57
U.S. Senior Open	T11	CUT	T6	CUT	2		19	T38	WD	CUT	CUT	CUT	T38	NT	T52	T41	T51
Senior Players Championship	T31	T32	T9	1	5		T39	T6	WD	T36	70	T72	WD	66
Senior British Open Championship	T2	T34	T25		T39		T26		WD	T18				NT

  Win

  Top 10

  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

U.S. national team appearances

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)

See also

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

References

1. "Week 36 1998 Ending 6 Sep 1998" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved December 20, 2018.
2. "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking" (PDF). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
3. McAllister, Mike (October 15, 2014). "Class of 2015 Hall of Famers receive surprise calls". PGA Tour.
4. Foster, Chris (March 9, 2007). "O'Meara Comes Home For Toshiba Classic". Long Beach State.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007.
5. "Ohio State's Cook makes Am finals". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. September 2, 1979. p. 5C.
6. "O'Meara dethrones Cook, easily wins U.S. Amateur". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. September 3, 1979. p. 32.
7. "U.S. Amateur Results: 1895 to Present". USGA. February 15, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
8. Chmiel, David (August 18, 2015). "Mark O'Meara: U.S. Amateur Victory Provided Crucial Confidence". USGA. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
9. Wargo, Buck (June 5, 2020). "Golf champ Mark O'Meara buys Southern Highlands home". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
10. An Interview with: Mark O'Meara Archived October 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
11. Glover, Tim (June 20, 1999). "Golf: First Night - Jarmo Sandelin: The maverick of the fairways Europe's newest Ryder Cup player will test the team ethic". Independent.
12. "O'Meara admits to possible misplacing". The Irish Times. April 30, 1998.
13. "O'Meara withdraws from Masters before 1st round". Yahoo Sports. April 5, 2012. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
14. "Former champ Mark O'Meara to miss British Open". Times of India. July 10, 2012.^{[ dead link ‍]}
15. Babineau, Jeff (September 18, 2024). "Mark O'Meara looking forward to one more walk at Pebble Beach, his true happy place". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
16. "Owen nets BBC sports award". BBC. December 14, 1998. Retrieved August 15, 2023.

External links

• Mark O'Meara at the PGA Tour official site
• Mark O'Meara at the European Tour official site
• Mark O'Meara at the Japan Golf Tour official site
• Mark O'Meara at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
• The official Mark O'Meara Design web site