Mark O’Meara spent last weekend driving … a snowmobile.
Snowmobiling is one of the Hall of Famer’s favorite pastimes. He has a home near Park City, Utah, and he took full advantage of this winter’s heavy snowfall.
“We find some open areas. We mess around,” O’Meara said. “Obviously, we try to stay away from avalanches, hopefully not hitting a tree.”
O’Meara didn’t strike any trees in the final round of the Cologuard Classic on Sunday. He barely found any trouble at all.
The round wasn’t completely stress free for O’Meara, but it came pretty close. Entering Sunday with a one-stroke lead, O’Meara shot the best score of the day to cruise to a four-stroke victory at Omni Tucson National Resort.
O’Meara’s 7-under 66 — featuring eight birdies and one bogey — put him at 17 under for the tournament. At 62 years, 1 month and 18 days old, O’Meara became the fourth-oldest winner on the PGA Tour Champions.
His last victory came on Oct. 10, 2010, a span of eight years, four months and 22 days — the second-longest gap between wins in tour history.
“Well, I’ve had like 15 or 16 seconds, so that’s been pretty disappointing,” O’Meara said after posing for countless pictures with the iconic Conquistador Helmet in his hands or on his head.
“A lot of times when I finished second, it wasn’t because I shot 71, 72, or 73. Guys just, they go low, and you just can’t take your foot off the pedal out here.”
That was O’Meara at the fifth iteration of the Cologuard Classic. He birdied the first hole, then made four birdies in a five-hole stretch to close out the front nine.
If there was a turning point, it came at No. 9. O’Meara striped his drive with a hybrid club, then hit a 6-iron to about 3 feet below the cup on the uphill par-4. He sank the putt for birdie.
Playing partner Kirk Triplett hit his approach long and left. He couldn’t get up and down and made bogey. O’Meara’s two-shot lead suddenly became four as the final group arrived at the turn.
“That put me in that ‘OK, we can’t catch him on one hole’ kind of deal,” Triplett said.
No one could. Triplett made only that one bogey, shot a 69 and finished tied for second at 13 under par. He shared that position with three others: Scott McCarron, Darren Clarke and Tucson product Willie Wood.
McCarron, who played with O’Meara and Triplett, made six birdies on the back nine and also shot a 69. But he never seriously threatened O’Meara, whose lone hiccup came on the par-3 14th, where he missed the green and missed a 5-foot par putt.
“Mark O’Meara played a beautiful round of golf today,” McCarron said. “I made a lot of birdies on the back side to try to at least get a run going, but I could never get close enough to really push him. My hat’s off to him.”
McCarron said O’Meara has served as “kind of my big brother” since joining the PGA Tour. The pair traveled together often and share a passion for fly fishing. McCarron and Triplett seemed genuinely happy for O’Meara, hugging him on the 18th green after he got up and down for par from the left-front bunker.
“That’s sort of a product of the Champions Tour,” Triplett said. “We try and beat each other’s brains in while we’re out there and give each other the look once in a while, but you’re thrilled for a guy because you know what (winning) a tournament means.
“You’re thrilled when a guy gets to do it, especially the way he played. He deserved it.”
Wood’s finish was just as unexpected as O’Meara’s, and no less meaningful. Wood, an amateur standout in Arizona who starred at Sabino High School, got into the tournament via the fifth and final sponsor exemption. The 58-year-old didn’t record a single top-10 finish in 34 Champions Tour starts in 2017 and ’18.
Thanks to his top-10 at the Cologuard Classic, Wood earned an exemption into the upcoming Hoag Classic in Newport Beach, California.
“I was set to qualify on Tuesday. Now I don’t have to,” said Wood, who made only one bogey in 54 holes. “That’s a big relief. I’m going back to Phoenix tonight, and I actually get to spend a day at home instead of just turn around real quick and head to Newport. So that’s big.”
O’Meara’s victory wasn’t life-altering by any means. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015. He won 16 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1998 Masters and Open Championship.
But it fit the unusual arc of his career. O’Meara won those majors at age 41, becoming the oldest player to win two major championships in the same year. He never won again on the PGA Tour.
On the Champions Tour, O’Meara won twice in 2010. That was it until Sunday.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he told the crowd gathered around the 18th green. “I’m 62 years old, still trying to figure out how to get better. Luckily this week everything fell into place.”
Chip shots
- Clarke, making his first appearance at the Cologuard Classic, recorded his first top-five finish in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event since winning the 2011 Open Championship. Clarke ended his round with a 50-foot birdie putt on No. 18. “I’m having a blast out here on the Champions Tour,” Clarke said. “Working hard at it, and at the same time enjoying myself. So it’s all pretty good at the moment.”
- Defending champion Steve Stricker began the day two shots off the lead. He finished tied for sixth at 11 under par. Stricker was undone by a double-bogey at the par-3 fourth hole, where he hit his tee shot into the water.
- Former UA standouts David Berganio Jr. and Robert Gamez were among 11 players to finish in a tie for 33rd at 2 under par. Berganio, making his Champions Tour debut, shot a 2-over 75 Sunday. Gamez shot a 1-under 72.
- MLB Hall of Famer John Smoltz, playing on a sponsor exemption, finished in a tie for 53rd at 1 over. Smoltz shot 73-74-73 in his second appearance in a Champions Tour event. Smoltz qualified for the 2018 U.S. Senior Open but missed the cut. “I fell prey to a couple holes,” Smoltz said, “but I learned a lot and I’m overall really thrilled with some parts of my game. The other parts, I’ve got to work on.”
- The par-4 18th played to an average of 4.270 strokes, down from 4.452 a year ago, when it was the hardest closing hole on the Champions Tour.
