Activities Sports & Athletics 1998 Masters: O'Meara is O'Major Print 1998 Masters champ Mark O'Meara in the Green Jacket and showing off the Masters trophy. David Cannon/Getty Images Sports & Athletics Golf Golf Tournaments Basics History Gear Golf Courses Famous Golfers Baseball Bicycling Billiards Bodybuilding Bowling Boxing Car Racing Cheerleading Extreme Sports Football Gymnastics Ice Hockey Martial Arts Professional Wrestling Skateboarding Skating Paintball Soccer Swimming & Diving Table Tennis Tennis Track & Field Volleyball Other Activities Learn More By Brent Kelley Brent Kelley Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on 11/04/19 After a long, successful career with plenty of wins - but none of them in majors - 41-year-old Mark O'Meara became a first-time major champion at the 1998 Masters. Quick Bits Winner: Mark O'Meara, 279Dates: April 9-12, 1998Location: Augusta National Golf Club in Augusa, Ga.Tournament number: The was the 62nd time the Masters Tournament was played. O' What a Feeling for O'Meara at 1998 Masters Mark O'Meara had been a very good player for a long time on the PGA Tour, but entering the 1998 Masters had not won a major championship. During 1998, O'Meara won two majors - this one, plus the British Open later in the year. Why was 1998 such a good year for O'Meara? Many believed - and O'Meara himself said as much - that O'Meara's friendship with the young star Tiger Woods played a role. O'Meara and Woods played together often, and competed against each other in practice rounds. O'Meara said that watching Woods' killer instinct and Woods' work ethic made him work that much harder himself. Whatever the reason, O'Meara won The Masters in 1998 by closing with rounds of 68 and 67, and by birdying the final hole to secure the victory. In fact, O'Meara birdied three of the final four holes on Sunday, capping his surge with a 20-footer on the 72nd hole for the one-stroke victory over David Duval and Fred Couples. O'Meara opened with a 74, five off the first-round lead. He jumped into the Top 10 with a second-round 70. And O'Meara's scores continued downward with a third-round 68. He stood tied for second heading into the final round, two strokes behind Couples. The 1998 Masters is also notable as the last time Jack Nicklaus was part of the story in the final round. Nicklaus, 56 years old, tied for sixth, four strokes off the lead, with a final-round 68. Gary Player, age 62, made the cut in a Masters for the last time this year. David Toms made his first-ever Masters appearance here, and it included a 64 in the final round. Toms finished tied with Nicklaus in sixth place. As defending champion, Woods slipped the Green Jacket onto O'Meara. Woods finished tied for eighth, six strokes behind O'Meara. 1998 Masters Scores Results from the 1998 Masters golf tournament played at the par-72 Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. (a-amateur): Mark O'Meara, $576,000 74-70-68-67--279 David Duval, $291,600 71-68-74-67--280 Fred Couples, $291,600 69-70-71-70--280 Jim Furyk, $153,600 76-70-67-68--281 Paul Azinger, $128,000 71-72-69-70--282 David Toms, $111,200 75-72-72-64--283 Jack Nicklaus, $111,200 73-72-70-68--283 Justin Leonard, $89,600 74-73-69-69--285 Darren Clarke, $89,600 76-73-67-69--285 Tiger Woods, $89,600 71-72-72-70--285 Colin Montgomerie, $89,600 71-75-69-70--285 Per-Ulrik Johansson, $64,800 74-75-67-70--286 Jose Maria Olazabal, $64,800 70-73-71-72--286 Jay Haas, $64,800 72-71-71-72--286 Phil Mickelson, $64,800 74-69-69-74--286 Ian Woosnam, $48,000 74-71-72-70--287 Scott McCarron, $48,000 73-71-72-71--287 Mark Calcavecchia, $48,000 74-74-69-70--287 Ernie Els, $48,000 75-70-70-72--287 Scott Hoch, $48,000 70-71-73-73--287 Willie Wood, $38,400 74-74-70-70--288 a-Matt Kuchar 72-76-68-72--288 Stewart Cink, $33,280 74-76-69-70--289 John Huston, $33,280 77-71-70-71--289 Jeff Maggert, $33,280 72-73-72-72--289 Steve Jones, $26,133 75-70-75-70--290 David Frost, $26,133 72-73-74-71--290 Brad Faxon, $26,133 73-74-71-72--290 Michael Bradley, $23,680 73-74-72-72--291 Steve Elkington, $22,720 75-75-71-71--292 Jesper Parnevik, $21,280 75-73-73-72--293 Andrew Magee, $21,280 74-72-74-73--293 Phil Blackmar, $18,112 71-78-75-70--294 Lee Janzen, $18,112 76-74-72-72--294 Fuzzy Zoeller, $18,112 71-74-75-74--294 John Daly, $18,112 77-71-71-75--294 Davis Love III, $18,112 74-75-67-78--294 Tom Kite, $15,680 73-74-74-74--295 Bernhard Langer, $14,720 75-73-74-74--296 Paul Stankowski, $14,720 70-80-72-74--296 Corey Pavin, $13,440 73-77-72-75--297 Craig Stadler, $13,440 79-68-73-77--297 John Cook, $12,480 75-73-74-76--298 Lee Westwood, $11,840 74-76-72-78--300 a-Joel Kribel 74-76-76-75--301 Gary Player, $11,200 77-72-78-75--302 Return to list of Masters champions By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. 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