The Mark O'Meara File

Age: 42 Resides: Windermere, Fla. Career victories: 16 Career earnings: $10,935,168 Season info: 1998 Masters, British Open champion has entered nine events . . . Missed just one cut, at Bay Hill in his home town of Orlando . . . Three top 10s: Mercedes Championships, Honda Classic and The Players Championship . . . Fourth on the career earnings list . . . Eighth in scoring average this season (69.92). Best '99 finish: T-2nd (Houston Open) Best '99 stat: Sand saves (5th, 63.8 pct.) Season earnings (rank): $641,695 (31st) Worst '99 stat: Total birdies (148th, 99)

By Ken Denlinger
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 27, 1999; Page H6

And for this week's strange-but-true: Mark O'Meara, golf's player of the year last season after winning the Masters and the British Open and one of the favorites in the Kemper Open that starts today at TPC at Avenel, has been watching 90-shooters for tips. Intently.

O'Meara is not looking to improve his game but for ways to make the transition into his next career in golf-designing courses-as smooth as possible.

"I think I know from all those pro-ams over the years what the needs for the amateurs are relative to what's required for the top-level pros," he said.

At 42, O'Meara wants "a solid year this year and next year" and then to ease into course design work, which will allow more time for wife Alicia, daughter Michelle, 12 and son Shaun, 9.

Those solid years are extremely hectic. In addition to the 20 or so tournaments that count on the PGA Tour, O'Meara will continue to maneuver drives and approach shots around courses worldwide. He played in Dubai earlier in the year and in Germany last week, flying back to his home near Orlando on Monday night and into Washington in time to gather more string for his design ambitions during yesterday's pro-am.

Most golfers need to win a major to gain entree into the global events that command staggering amounts of money for appearance fees. The PGA Tour does not permit such fees, which can fetch O'Meara and others with his name recognition at least $200,000 per tournament. But O'Meara was having his passport stamped a few times a year long before winning his first two majors, although his price surely has escalated.

O'Meara takes pride in giving sponsors an honest effort for their money, winning five times in Europe and also in Japan, Australia and Africa. While some golfers fatten their bank accounts abroad, they also misplace their games. Not O'Meara. The schedules usually are manageable-and he also is blessed with being able to drift off to sleep on each long-distance flight before the peanuts arrive.

He is aging well at his craft, winning as many tournaments (eight) the last four years on tour as he did the first 14. He played in 19 PGA-sanctioned tournaments last year and finished seventh on the money list with earnings of $1,786,699. But it takes a fairly long look at some statistics to figure out how.

For instance, O'Meara was 117th in driving distance, 126th in driving accuracy, 129th in greens in regulation and 138th in sand saves. His all-round ranking was 62nd. However, he was tied for 12th in the one stat that almost surely matters most: putting. Also, his scoring average in the final round (69.53) was second.

So O'Meara can find much in his game that needs improvement.

"I want to get the club in better position to drive better," he said. "I want to improve course management. I think my attitude on the course is good. I'm quicker at getting over bad shots."

Whatever friction occurs in his life tends not to last long. For instance, O'Meara recently fired his longtime caddie, Jerry Higginbotham.

"For what I paid him I expected him to try to improve as hard as I do," O'Meara said. "I didn't see that happening."

Higginbotham was not long without work. The latest teen phenom, Sergio Garcia of Spain, needed a caddie and remembered Higginbotham from having played a round with O'Meara last year in France. O'Meara even recommended Higginbotham to Garcia. Garcia finished in a third-place tie in the Byron Nelson Classic in Irving, Tex., two weeks ago and won $144,000.

Kemper Open chairman Ben Brundred said that about 20 or so of the 154 players in the field send him thank you notes after each tournament. One them always is O'Meara.

"I've met a lot of nice people in golf," O'Meara said, "and I've met a lot of nice people outside the game of golf."

O'Meara learned a lesson in how to treat fans from golf's most popular player, Arnold Palmer. They had played a round together and were signing assorted programs and souvenirs when Palmer pointed to another player hustling through the crowd, signing his name so quickly that no one could recognize it.

"Arnie said that if the person you give your autograph to cannot read your name," O'Meara said, "you shouldn't even bother to give it."

One of the most thoughtful athletes O'Meara has met outside golf is the player nearly everyone agrees was the best ever in hockey, Wayne Gretzky. They have been friends for several years-and the call O'Meara most appreciated from Gretzky came after The Masters this year, when he finished tied for 31st.

"Wayne said he knew a thousand people had called last year, after I'd won," O'Meara said, "but that not many would call this year. He congratulated me, told me that I'd defended well."

O'Meara and his family flew to New York April 18 for Gretzky's final game-and one of the 47 sticks Gretzky used that day and autographed went to O'Meara's son, Shaun.

Generally, O'Meara has played well during his 11 appearances in the Kemper. Twice he has finished second, in 1984 when the tournament was at Congressional Country Club, and in 1996, when his 11-under 273 was three shots behind Steve Stricker.

"Maybe if I keep giving myself a chance," he said, "I'll win it."