Mark O’Meara made history in 1998 by becoming, at 41, the oldest player ever to win two Majors in the same year.
He’d birdied the last hole at Augusta to win the Masters in April and he added the Claret Jug in July by beating unheralded Brian Watts, who was the surprise leader after the second and third rounds, in a four-hole play-off.
Mark O' Meara credits a 2-minute convo w/his son on 18th green (before 4-hole playoff) at Royal Birkdale as reason he won The Open in 1998. pic.twitter.com/3dFQuRVWXv
— Golf Hall of Fame (@GolfHallofFame) December 7, 2016
O’Meara’s young friend, the 21-year old Tiger Woods, who had already won the Masters the previous year, almost joined the play-off after birdieing three of Royal Birkdale’s final four holes.
The 1998 Open was also notable for the manner in which 17 year old amateur Justin Rose announced himself to the golf world. He shot a 66 in the second round to equal the lowest round of an amateur in the event but it was his chip in from the rough at the last to secure fourth place, the best result by a British amateur since 1921, which really marked him out as a star of the future.