AUGUSTA, Ga. — Moments after Mark O’Meara holed a 20-foot putt on the 72nd green to win the 1998 Masters Tournament, he told Jim Nantz of CBS Sports he would “treasure it for a lifetime.”
Some 25 years later, O’Meara feels the same way.
“It’s 100 percent true,” O’Meara said. “Anytime you’re a Masters champ, whether you win one, two, five, whatever, just winning one is a dream come true.”
The curling right-to-left birdie provided a thrilling finish to an epic Sunday battle and an iconic moment in Masters lore. O’Meara nipped good friend and fan favorite Fred Couples and the game’s hottest player, David Duval, by one shot to win the green jacket on his 15th attempt.
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Although he retired from competing in the tournament in 2018, O’Meara relishes his annual trips to Augusta during the first full week of April. Ben Crenshaw recognized O’Meara on the anniversary of his victory on Tuesday night during the Champions Dinner. O’Meara played with Couples and Crenshaw in the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday.
“I’m a lucky man to be in that room,” O’Meara said. “At 41 to make a putt on the last green to win this great tournament, 25 years it’s hard to believe it’s gone by that fast. I have so much respect for this place, the club, the tournament itself.”
A 58-year-old Jack Nicklaus delivered the early fireworks in the final round in 1998, birdieing three of the first five holes to charge near the lead and CBS opened its TV coverage with a shot of Nicklaus as he made the turn.
O’Meara trailed Couples by one shot with three holes remaining. After narrowly missing a birdie try at 16, he stuffed an approach shot close on 17, sinking the putt to pull even with Couples and Duval, who was waiting in the clubhouse.
O’Meara rifled a drive down the center of the 18th fairway and his approach shot, admittedly struck a touch thin, hopped up on the right side of the green, setting up a putt of a lifetime.
“I was over that putt and a little bit nervous, but I never thought for one minute that if I make this I’m going to win the Masters,” he said. “I used a different mindset – Look, sooner or later you’re going to make one. Whether it’s here, 10, 11 or 12 the longer it goes on. So why not try to make one here. I had no idea what was going to happen. Felt like I hit a good putt, and then there was shock and disbelief at what just happened.”
Before settling in over his short par putt, Couples shook O’Meara’s hand.
“We go way back, he’s a class act and a fan favorite,” O’Meara said. “When you win a tournament I think you always hope that you can do it in a fashion where you do something well as opposed to somebody messing up and I think Fred appreciated the fact that I birdied three of the last four holes, the last two to win the Masters. So, yeah, I’m very thankful.”
O’Meara had just two other top-10s in 34 Masters appearances. He was one of the best players on Tour who had not won a major prior to the clutch putt on the final green. His 16th and last victory came three months later in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
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