O'Meara gets first solo Champions win, longs for Hall

It took awhile -- like six years -- but Mark O'Meara has finally notched his first solo win since 2004, and his first individual win on the Champions Tour. Outdueling Michael Allen on the first playoff hole, O'Meara took home the Senior Players Championship trophy and a whole lot of satisfaction. 

O'Meara held a three-stroke lead on the back nine, but Allen charged up the leaderboard and even had chances to win outright with birdie opportunities at 15 and 18. He missed both, and he and O'Meara finished at -7 to head to the fateful playoff.

Still, O'Meara's win was tinged with some bitterness. He's still not a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, and he didn't try to hide his frustration at falling short again this year.

"Another disappointment," he said. "You know, I know Hall of Fame alwayscomes up. I'll be honest, I'm disappointed I didn't get in this year.I'm 53. I'll be 54 next year. Borderline, I think there's guys that hadmaybe semi-careers, they're all in. I'm thinking, 'When am I going to get the call?' That would be agreat honor for me. Especially for what I accomplished on the regular Tour, my worldwide wins. I was disappointed. That kind of hurt a littlebit ... You've just got to wonder if it's a popularity contest or what. Ithink my record hopefully is good enough by what I've accomplished."

O'Meara has 16 wins on the PGA Tour, including the Masters and the British won within a few weeks of each other in 1998. He's also posted wins on the European, Japan and now Champions tours. Is that good enough to get him in? In the most recent election, O'Meara received 29 percent of the vote, trailing, among others, Fred Couples at 32 percent. 

It's a classic case of doing a lot of things reasonably well for a long period of time, with only a brief burst of excellence. Is that enough to get O'Meara in? There's ample evidence to say he should be in there, but Dale Murphy would tell him not to hold his breath.

Related: Fred Couples

Email Devil Ball Golf Buzz up! digg add to facebook delicious Twitter

« Prev Lee Westwood will be No. 1 on Halloween, but does that matter?

Next » The Grand Slam of Golf is now a ground-rule double

Golf Byrd shoots 63, leads by 1 in Las Vegas Boyd cards 63, leads Parry by 2 in Spain Hjorth, J.Y. Lee share lead in Malaysia Montgomerie bruised in 4-vehicle crash Westwood, 4 major winners in Nedbank Els edges Toms to win Grand Slam of Golf More Golf News 8 Comments Post a Comment

1 - 8 of 8

Kenny Perry tees it up for the first time on the Champions Tour

Oh, now this isn't even fair. Kenny Perry, a newly minted 50, is making his Champions Tour debut this weekend at the roll-off-your-tongue-named Administaff Small Business Classic at The Woodlands Country Club in The Woodlands, Texas.

Perry is the latest golfer entering the Champions Tour, once golf's equivalent of the Old-Timer's Game, in a condition where he's, if not at the top of his game, certainly not all that far from it. Remember, he's just 18 months and one bad bounce from a victory at the Masters.

Perry joins Fred Couples and Mark Calcavecchia as golfers on the Champions Tour who still play well enough on the PGA Tour not to embarrass themselves. And Perry, who has four more years of tour exemption remaining, plans to bounce back and forth between the tours as he works toward his goal of 20 PGA Tour wins. (He currently sits at 14, with his most recent being the Travelers Championship last June.)

And before long, Perry won't be alone. Vijay Singh is within sight of 50, and believe it or not, it's "only" a decade before Phil Mickelson gets there. By then, maybe we can have that Champions/PGA Brawl to Settle it All that we've all dreamed about.

But before that happens, Kenny Perry's got some golf to play. We expect nothing less than a top-3 finish this weekend, Kenny. Have at it! 

Related: Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson, Kenny Perry, Mark Calcavecchia, Vijay Singh

Email Devil Ball Golf Buzz up! digg add to facebook delicious Twitter

« Prev Webb Simpson won't be needing that putter on this hole

Next » Rickie Fowler might soon be a very big fan of Kodak

Golf Byrd shoots 63, leads by 1 in Las Vegas Boyd cards 63, leads Parry by 2 in Spain Hjorth, J.Y. Lee share lead in Malaysia Montgomerie bruised in 4-vehicle crash Westwood, 4 major winners in Nedbank Els edges Toms to win Grand Slam of Golf More Golf News 1 Comment Post a Comment

1 - 1 of 1