Despite Their ‘Awkward’ Masters Moment, Tiger Woods Indirectly Owes Mark O’Meara for a Massive Career Move
Two decades into his career, at the age of 41, Mark O’Meara tasted his first major victory at Augusta National. The 16-time PGA Tour winner was up against veterans like Fred Couples and David Duval, but after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole, O’Meara successfully claimed the first and only green jacket of his life. It was a night to remember for his accomplishment, but it was also marked by an awkward moment that followed.
As many traditions go on at the Masters, including the Champions Dinner and the Par-3 Contest, there is also the green jacket ceremony. This ceremony is conducted by the current champion and the previous year’s winner. The 1997 Masters winner, as we know, was Tiger Woods. O’Meara was honored to receive the green jacket from his close friend Woods but didn’t anticipate that their height difference would create an issue. Yet it did.
Recalling the 1998 jacket ceremony, O’Meara told Golf.com in 2023, “Tiger’s a little bit taller than I am, and he had it up, and I couldn’t get my left arm into the jacket. And it was kind of an awkward situation.” However, the 1998 Masters winner turned around and asked the 15-time major winner to lower the jacket. Woods obliged, and they hugged it out. Later, O’Meara asked Woods what the issue was, and the then-young PGA Tour pro said, as O’Meara recounted, “‘M.O. How would I know how to put a sport coat on anybody? I’ve never put a jacket on anybody!”
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It was an awkward but hilarious situation that O’Meara still cherishes. However, there was something else the two-time major winner did that indirectly helped Woods a great deal in his career and propelled him to become the player he did.
Throughout Tiger Woods’ career, his father, Earl Woods, was his biggest coach and driving force. Later in his career, Woods was paired with Butch Harmon. After parting ways with Harmon in 2004, Woods teamed up with Hank Haney. Under Haney’s coaching, the 82-time PGA Tour winner claimed 31 titles and six major championships before they parted ways in 2008. Those six years were pivotal for both Woods and Haney, establishing Haney as one of the best coaches in the golf world.
But Haney’s journey to becoming a successful PGA Tour coach started with Mark O’Meara. The 69-year-old instructor credits his success to O’Meara. In an interview with OTL Golf, Haney was asked about his favorite student on the Tour, and it wasn’t Woods—it was O’Meara. Haney shared that O’Meara was his first student on the PGA Tour, helping him go from 124th on the money list to second in two years.
As a result, Haney became known as “The Guy” who cracked the Tour code and began winning there. This reputation allowed him to coach more than 200 PGA Tour pros. Haney expressed his gratitude, saying, “I would say everything that’s great that happened to me in golf, and really in my life, happened because I met Mark O’Meara.” If not for O’Meara giving Haney a breakthrough, it is left to assume, that Woods would have found another coach, changed his swing for the better, and won 31 times when Harmon was out of his team.
Thanks to this special connection, Woods has much to appreciate about O’Meara, who supported him like an older brother. Their paths eventually crossed with Haney, creating an eight-year stretch on the PGA Tour that made life difficult for other golfers.
Huda Khambe is a Golf Writer for EssentiallySports. Growing up watching Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam bag one major after the other, Huda Khambe set herself on a path to becoming a sports writer early on. With a year of prior experience in writing, Huda now brings the greens to life with her unique insights on her favorite storylines, such as Jack Nicklaus’s record rivalry with Tiger Woods and its impact on both stars.
