Mark it up
O'Meara a heavy favorite at Pebble Beach
Posted: Thursday February 11, 1999 11:59 AM
| |
O'Meara owns the tournament scoring record with a 268 total in 1997 Harry How/Allsport |
By Benjamin Berman, CNN/SI
If there is one golfer who stands out as a favorite at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am this week, it's Mark O'Meara, the only man to win the event five times.
O'Meara picked up in '99 where left off in 1998, with a second-place finish at the Mercedes Championships. And if it wasn't for David Duval, the PGA Tour's hottest player, O'Meara may have walked home with another title.
He has played all eight rounds under par this season, including a 1999-high 66 at the Sony Open. In that event, O'Meara tied for 12th.
Another reason expectations can be high on O'Meara this weekend is because of his unbelievable 1998 campaign. The 1998 PGA Tour Player of the Year went from the "best never to win a major" to simply, one of the best.
He captured the Masters in April of 1998, and then followed with a second major title at the British Open in July. At 41, O'Meara became the oldest player ever to win two majors in the same year.
In all, O'Meara racked up $1,786,699 in PGA earnings in '98.
Why O'Meara is a
Pebble Beach Favorite |
|
Five time Pebble Beach National Pro-Am champ (1985, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1997)
1997 total score of 268 is the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am record
1998 PGA Tour Player of the Year
Two major titles (Masters in '98, British Open in '98)
5th on circuit in '98 with a 69.63 scoring average
6th on 1998 World PGA Tours Money List with $2,014,039
| |
| |
The X-factor is O'Meara's past success at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Not only is he a five-time winner, but he is only one of five men to repeat as champion in the tournament's 62-year history. O'Meara also holds the tournament scoring record with a 268 total in 1997.
O'Meara took last weekend off and should be fresh coming into this week's tournament.
| 
