Mark O'Meara fires 68, makes first cut since 2005

When Mark O’Meara walks up to the first tee Saturday, it’ll be special enough.

But to do it while his name is still on the leaderboard? That’s like a view to the past.

O’Meara, 58, made a Mas­ters Tournament cut for the first time since 2005, with a 4-under round Friday boosting him to 3-under for the tournament and into the top 10.

“I’m kind of surprised, but I’m not surprised,” O’Meara said. “I was fortunate, way back 17 years ago, in ’98, at 41, nobody thought I was going to win the Masters, including probably myself. I shot 74-70, good enough to make the cut on the weekend. And then it was 68-67. I think experience plays a big factor around Augusta National, kind of playing the course a bunch, realizing you need to respect the golf course and when to maybe be a little more aggressive.”

O’Meara won his only green jacket in 1998, which was the same year a 58-year-old Jack Nicklaus carded 68 en route to being the oldest top-10 finisher in the tournament’s history.

O’Meara used a one-bogey, five-birdie Friday to get his best Masters round since he shot 68 in the final round in 2001.

Just one day after Tom Wat­son, 65, shot 1-under, O’Meara stole the show for the seniors.

“The competitiveness, the majors, the Masters – it means so much,” O’Meara said. “Certainly being a Mas­ters champion, certainly coming back here, and then obviously the nod to get into the Hall of Fame this year, there’s a lot of things going on in my life – a lot of positive things. That kind of motivates me and drives me to play better.”

O’Meara is no stranger to defying time. He followed his 1998 Masters victory with a win in the British Open to become the oldest player to grab two majors in the same year. His Masters win also came on his 15th attempt, the most by a first-time winner.

This year, O’Meara’s Mas­ters started with Monday and Tues­day practice rounds with Tiger Woods. He wondered what his friend might think about seeing his name on the leaderboard.

“It was good to see it up there, because maybe, I know Tiger’s like 3-under (Friday), so maybe it’s motivating him a little bit out there – seeing the old man’s up on the board he’s probably, ‘Wait a minute. Can’t let that guy beat me,’ ” O’Meara joked.