Official Retirement This Week from PGA Tour Champions
Triumphed at 1998 Masters and The Open
Famous for Close Relationship with Woods, Known as 'Uncle Role'
Mark O'Meara (USA), who served as a mentor to the "Golf Emperor" Tiger Woods, is leaving the beloved field.
He will retire after the Pure Insurance Championship, a PGA Tour Champions (Senior) event held over three days starting on the 20th (local time) at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California, USA. O'Meara stated, "I admire the fierce competitive spirit and burning desire to win that my fellow players have," but added, "I am no longer that. There are many things I want to do besides golf."
O'Meara chose Pebble Beach as his retirement stage because it is a venue where he won six times as a player. He first connected with Pebble Beach by winning the California State Amateur Championship held there in 1979. Later, he won the PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am five times at this venue. His fifth victory in 1997 came when he was 40 years old, narrowly defeating top players Tiger Woods and David Duval (USA) by one stroke.
O'Meara was well known for his close relationship with Woods. Woods, who debuted on the PGA Tour in 1996, looked up to him like an uncle. Before Woods got married, he would casually stop by O'Meara's house and eat meals prepared by O'Meara's wife.
Born in 1957, O'Meara is 67 years old this year. He left a significant mark on the PGA Tour. He won the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 1981 and accumulated a total of 16 wins. Notably, in 1998 at age 41, he won both the Masters and The Open, earning the Player of the Year award. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015. He also secured three wins on the PGA Tour Champions. In 2010, he became a senior major champion by winning the Senior Players Championship. O'Meara has not competed in any tournaments since March.
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