O’Meara Leaves a Mark With 63

In answering the question, “Whatever happened to Mark O’Meara?” the answer was provided by Mark O’Meara, who tied the PGA Championship record Friday with a second-round 63.

O’Meara, who hasn’t had a top-10 finish this year, turns 45 in January and hasn’t been heard from in the majors since 1998, when he had the year of his career. He won the Masters and the British Open at Royal Birkdale and was fourth at the PGA at Sahalee.

But there he was, prowling the fairways and greens at Atlanta Athletic Club and moving into contention at five-under 135 for 36 holes.

“I haven’t played that well in the last year and a half and the game has been a little bit of a battle, mentally as well as physically,” he said.

“To go out there and shoot a score like that, most of the people out there watching are my age and saying, ‘Hey, do it for the old guys.’ I’m like, ‘Hey wait a minute.’ I’m getting up there, but I still have five or six years before I need a cart [for the senior tour.]”

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He uses something called “the claw” putting grip, the same as Mark Calcavecchia, and it’s nothing short of ugly--hands overlapped--but Chris DiMarco says it’s a thing of beauty.

And why wouldn’t he after his 67 put him at five under par after 36 holes?

“The funny thing about it is that since I’ve been playing better, people have really started to overlook the grip,” he said. “I mean, it was the big thing, it was the grip, ‘Oh, my God, look at the grip.’ Now that I’m playing so good, it’s different.

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“I get a bunch of people that come up to me and say, ‘You’ve saved my game. . . . I’m putting much better.’ ”

DiMarco, who was in contention at the Masters, is No. 11 on the Ryder Cup points list and could play his way onto the team with a good weekend at the PGA.

“You can’t think about it,” he said. “You’ve just got to go out and play golf and whatever comes with your finishes comes with your finishes.”

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K.J. Choi didn’t hesitate when asked if he was bigger in his native Korea than Se Ri Pak.

Said Choi: “It’s me, yeah.”

Why?

“The PGA Tour is better.”

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Fred Couples is dropping hints about retiring, even though he isn’t even turning 42 until October. But other numbers trouble Couples, such as three missed cuts in his last five events (including the U.S. Open and British Open), no top 10s all year, only $333,066 in prize money.

“I don’t want people thinking that I’m not trying and being a poor sport about it and giving up,” he said. “I’ve been out here for 21 years and you can see sometimes the writing on the wall. I don’t really want to play golf just to come out and play and not have a shot at finishing in the top 10.”

The 1992 Masters champion says that if he doesn’t feel like going through the grind to be a better player and if he plays no better next year, then he’s out the door.

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Steve Elkington, who won the 1995 PGA Championship at Riviera, withdrew before the second round because of illness. He had a 77 Thursday.

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PGA 63s

Players who have scored 63s in the PGA Championship with round, course and year:

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Bruce Crampton Second Firestone 1975 Ray Floyd First Southern Hills 1982 Gary Player Second Shoal Creek 1984 Vijay Singh Second Inverness 1993 Michael Bradley First Riviera 1995 Brad Faxon Fourth Riviera 1995 Jose Maria Olazabal Third Valhalla 2000 Mark O’Meara Second Atlanta Athletic Club 2001

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Note: The feat has been accomplished two times in the Masters, three times in the U.S. Open and seven times in the British Open.