"Oh, I think he has given up on me," said O'Meara with a laugh. "I would say he thinks I should be in the gym more, I should be more focused, I should push it more."
That might be the only beef Woods and O'Meara have ever had. The two are neighbors in Orlando, have been for the past 10 years, and have become best friends. They are about to go their separate ways with Tiger now having a wife and on the verge of becoming a father, Mark now playing his golf on a different tour. But O'Meara considers himself extremely fortunate to have made it into Woods' inner circle.
"For me personally to have been by his side, witnessed it, traveled with him, stayed with him and be his big brother/mentor, whatever you want to say, has helped me just as much as it's helped Tiger," says O'Meara.
"He's definitely been an inspiration. He's helped me. I'm a fan besides a golfer, and I love what I have seen by his accomplishments. I think any time you're able to be around somebody like that - and for Tiger to act and conduct himself as well as he has under the expectations and the pressure he lives under - it's been a lot of fun for me.
Photo: © David Cannon/Getty Images |
| Tiger and Mark have been like brothers for the last 11 years. |
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"And he's been there for me. If I needed help or I needed somebody to kind of be there, if I picked up the phone, I know he would be there for me. Besides the fact that he's a killer and a competitor and likes to win, he's got a heart, too."
Woods has drawn the curtains around himself so tightly that the public knows virtually nothing about Tiger the Man. For years Woods fought to keep some semblance of normality about him - he and O'Meara would go fishing together, would pump gas side by side at the local station, would arise early and eat breakfast together at a nearby restaurant. Tiger can do it no longer - his fame is too widespread.
"But I can tell you this - that as well as I know Tiger Woods, he is still the ultimate prankster," said O'Meara. "He still has a lot of kid inside of him. Well he's 31 now, but. . ." - O'Meara lowered his voice - "he's still very special. He definitely has a gift."
O'Meara's career has spanned a couple of generations now. He turned professional in 1980 and got in on the close of the regular-tour careers of Don January, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Miller Barber. He played alongside Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman. And, of course, he was privileged to have seen Tiger Woods up close and oh-so-personally.
Photo: © Warren Little/Getty Images |
| O'Meara has been a part of three different generations of golfers on the PGA Tour. |
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And this 50-year-old says there has never been a period of better golf than the present.
"My feeling is, players are better today than they were 10 years ago," he said. "And they were better 10 years ago than they were 20 years ago. And it's BECAUSE of players like Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, Trevino or Byron Nelson or Ben Hogan, that each succeeding generation just keeps getting better."
Each succeeding generation, says O'Meara, builds on the knowledge of previous generations. And golf has exploded worldwide. That means there are10 times as many great golfers with which to contend, golfers who previously might have gone into soccer or some other sport.
Which, of course, means Tiger's ascendancy to the top is even more dramatic.
"I'd say if the tour went back to the old wooden shafts, or the old wooden heads, he'd win a lot more than he does today," said O'Meara. "Because I think he is the most skilled player - by far - of anybody out there."
And - he has that certain attitude. O'Meara chooses the words carefully, not wanting to be misunderstood when he describes the manner with which Woods approaches the game.
Photo: © Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images |
| O'Meara faces a whole new set of challenges now that he has turned 50. |
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"Sometimes, you know, you have to be very self-centered. You have to be all about YOU (when you play the game) - that's what it's all about.
"But you know what? I still think you can be a champion and be humble and nice. Tiger's is humble and nice, but he's an only child, he's a killer. And he wants to win."
Of course, O'Meara does, too. But Mark fans out into all aspects of life, and maybe he's just as much a winner there as Tiger is at golf.
"I've been very lucky, I've been very blessed, I've done a lot better than I would have ever dreamed of when I was a young kid," he says. "And I've learned that I owe everything to the game of golf."
Tiger, of course, has learned that, too. But he doesn't have a full understanding of all that makes up this life experience - yet. But O'Meara is positive that he will. There's nothing like a little gray hair and a 50th birthday to drum that into the noggin.
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