Mark O'Meara is retiring from the Masters Tournament, 20 years after birdieing the 71st and 72nd holes to win his lone green jacket.
O'Meara missed the cut on Friday at the 2018 Masters, and he declared this would be his last time competing in the annual April kickoff to the men's majors season.
“That was it for me; I’m done,” O’Meara said after a second-round 81 to miss the cut following an opening 78. “I love this championship. It’s just a tough golf course when you’re 61.”
The now-61-year-old debuted at Augusta National as a 23-year-old amateur in 1980. He went the most Masters appearances -- 15 -- before claiming his first (and only) title by a shot over David Duval and Fred Couples. He then went on to win the Claret Jug later that summer at the 1998 British Open Championship, joining rare company of golfers to win multiple majors in a single calendar year.
In 2015, O'Meara was 12th through 36 holes and finished T-22 in a more than respectable showing. He hadn't made the cut since.
“I just don’t want to go out and shoot 76s and 80s and 79s,” he said, “And today no birdies and 81. That’s not exactly very sterling. And even though the course is very demanding and very tough, it’s fair. The course has always been fair, but it’s an extreme test of golf.”
