O’Meara Overshadowed by Famous Neighbor

For Mark O’Meara’s first 17 years on the PGA Tour, he was known best for his dominance on the West Coast.

But that recently changed because of his friendship with Tiger Woods. The pair are neighbors in Windermere, Fla., and often play together in the off-season.

Now, O’Meara can’t escape Woods’ shadow. O’Meara was at Torrey Pines recently for a press conference only to be hit with questions about Woods and the round they played together the day before at La Costa.

O’Meara was asked what it’s like to play with somebody hitting the ball 70 yards past him off the tee and about Woods’ reaction to his errant shots.

O’Meara politely answered each question, saying he likes Woods very much and is impressed with the way he handles himself.

O’Meara never once pointed out that he was at the news conference because he was the tournament’s defending champion. Nor did he say anything about his five victories at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am or any of other PGA Tour titles (He has 14 total).

The Century Club, which runs the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, offered the final Woods volley by presenting O’Meara with a birthday gift a day before his 41st birthday.

The gift was a framed photo of O’Meara and Woods walking together in a fairway, both with wide smiles.

O’Meara looked at the photo for a moment, looked up and said: “Maybe I can get Tiger to autograph this for me.�

Earlier, O’Meara, a graduate of Mission Viejo High and Long Beach State, told a story of his first memory of the tournament at Torrey Pines. It was in 1974 when he was a junior golfer working as a volunteer.

Tom Watson, who was in his third year on the tour and still an unknown, shot 66 in the third round and it was O’Meara who was sent to get Watson after the 18th hole and drive him to the press tent, then go with him to the tower behind the 17th green for a television interview.

“It was something that I haven’t forgotten,� O’Meara said. “I told Tom about it when we played the Ryder Cup in 1985. I told him I was that young kid riding in the cart and waiting in the press room.

“We walked back to the 17th tower and the whole way he was very cordial and very supportive. He asked where I grew up and where I was playing golf.�

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Those who attend this year’s tournament at Torrey Pines (Feb. 5-8) will see a plaque for Gene Littler that is the latest addition to the Century Club Walk of Fame.

Littler was born in San Diego, went to San Diego State and won the 1954 San Diego Open as an amateur. He won the U.S. Open in 1961 and finished with 29 PGA Tour victories and won eight more times on the Senior PGA Tour.

Littler joins Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper and Andy Williams, who was the event’s long-time coach, on the walk of fame, which surrounds the putting green.

“This is a great honor,� Littler said, “especially to be laid to rest with those other guys out there.�

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The end is near: The long-expected demise of Imperial Golf Course in Brea is at hand--March 29 will be the last day of operation--which is bad news for budget-minded golfers in Orange County.

Imperial is a rarity in the North County--a reasonably-priced ($22 on weekdays), championship-length (6,220 yards) public course.

Unocal, which owns the land on which the course sits, plans to plow it under to build single-family homes.

MDJ Management, which runs the course for the owner, Imperial Partners, received notice of the closing from Unocal Jan. 9, according to Lisa Campbell, the tournament director at Imperial and Birch Hills, a nearby executive course.

“I had to cancel tournaments for the rest of the year,� Campbell said. “A lot of people are really disappointed.�

Unocal, which long had planned to develop the land, was waiting for the Orange County housing market to rebound.

In this case, the market’s gain is a triple bogey for local golf.