2005 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am O'Meara Fishing for a Return to Form By Mercer Baggs - February 09, 2005 In 1998, Mark O묺eara won the Masters ?his first ever major victory in 18 years of professional golf. Three months later, he won the British Open. Because of both, he was voted as PGA Tour player of the year. In 1998, Mark O묺eara had reached the pinnacle of his golfing career. Things couldn뭪 get any better. And, in many ways, he knew it. Mark O'Meara hopes to right his ship on the PGA Tour in 2005.밒 felt like I reached an area in my life where I never thought I뭗 be,?O묺eara said Tuesday at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. 밪ometimes when you do that, for whatever reason you tend to slide down.? It was a steady decline for the then 41-year-old. He dropped from seventh on the money list in ?8 to 45th in ?9. He then went to 112th, and then 116th, and back to 97th. In 2003, he fell all the way to 143rd in earnings. It marked the first time he had ever failed to finish inside of the all-exempt top 125. And it was awfully bad timing, considering his five-year exemption from his major victories had hit their expiration date. O묺eara used a one-time exemption as a member of the tour뭩 top 25 all-time money winners in order to receive his 2004 card. He was only able to compete in 17 events, however, due to a hand injury and again missed the 125 cut, ending 10 spots higher. But, all-in-all, last year was a moderate success ?particularly when compared to its most recent predecessors. O묺eara won the Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour ?an event that featured the likes of Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. He did so with the aid of a revised putting grip he dubbed "The Saw" . That win, combined with a revival in his putting stroke, helped add a little fuel to his competitive fire ?one that was in danger of being extinguished. 밚ast year was a big year, because I felt like I really wanted to play again,?he said. 밡ow, can I compete at the level that I used to compete at? Maybe not. But the win in Dubai was big because there were a lot of good players entered, and I won again. ?That was a big confidence booster.? Ideally, O묺eara would have liked to have capitalized on that early-season momentum (he won Dubai in March) and won again on the PGA Tour (which he hasn't done since '98). It didn뭪 happen. And he was denied any opportunity of making a late surge to keep his card when he broke a small bone in his left palm in September at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He thought that he could heal the injury with rest. That, too, didn뭪 happen. And surgery was the only option. This will mark Mark뭩 third event of the 2005 season. He뭩 playing on a Minor Medical exemption, meaning he has eight events to earn $79,396 (when added to last year's total, equal to No. 125 on the 2004 money list). If he does that, he뭠l earn Major Medical status, which will greatly enhance his chances of getting into tournaments. If not, then he뭠l have to pull a Blanche DeBois and rely on the kindness of (not-so) strangers. 밨ight now, I뭢 feeling pretty good,?said O묺eara. 밒t뭩 not 100 percent, but it뭩 better.? Thus far, O묺eara has played in two events, making one cut and collecting $9,552. But, if ever there was an opportunity to pick up some much needed cash, it comes this week at Pebble Beach, where O묺eara has won five times. 밒 take a lot of pride when I look at the rock there on the first tee and (see) the amount of times I뭭e had success here,?he said. 밫here뭩 a lot of fond memories.? O묺eara is once again ?he has been since 1997, when he turned 40 ?on the Hall of Fame ballot. He뭩 won 16 times on the PGA Tour, including the aforementioned majors. He has eight international victories. He뭩 a five-time Ryder Cup team member and a two-time participant in the Presidents Cup. Those are overly impressive, if not Hall of Fame, numbers. The kind of numbers that when one retires, he can do so in peace, with positive reflection. But O묺eara isn뭪 about to give up his golfing gig just yet. He thought about it a few years ago, when he considered giving television a shot. Then he came to his senses ?and it had little to do with his level of interest in the game.