TOP 20 IN THEIR 20s: No. 9  Editor's Note: Our "Top 20 in Their 20s" series continues as PGATOUR.com counts down the top golfers on the PGA TOUR aged 20-29 over the next week. The list is based on 14 statistical categories, including TOUR wins, Official World Golf Ranking, percentage of time spent in the top 10 throughout their career and 2007 FedExCup performance. Get to know No. 9: Sean O'Hair.
Yes, Phil Mickelson took home the trophy at THE PLAYERS Championship in 2007. But it was Sean O'Hair's heartbreaking performance that stole the show in the final round. The final stretch of Nos. 16, 17 and 18 at TPC Sawgrass is one of the toughest in professional golf. O'Hair, just 25 years old, felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he stepped up to the famous 17th hole.
The youngster had led the tournament at the 54-hole mark and was paired with Phil Mickelson in the final group. After 70 holes, O'Hair found himself behind Mickelson but wasn't playing for second place -- he fired at the pin on the famous island green in hopes of catching Lefty. Splash. Second try. Splash. When the carnage was over, O'Hair walked away with a quadruple bogey. "The shot on 17 wasn't a bad shot. I guess I hit too hard. I was right on my line. I thought it was good. Then all of a sudden I heard the crowd moan, and all of a sudden it was in the water," O'Hair said at THE PLAYERS. "Then my pitch shot I'm trying to get close. I'm not trying to play for double on that hole. "I played well. I can't let that hole or the last hole dictate how I played [that] week." While it is becoming more and more popular for women to turn pro after high school instead of playing college golf, the best way for men to make it on the PGA TOUR still seems to be to getting their spikes dirty playing college golf. For O'Hair, that wasn't the case. O'Hair wasn't even out of high school when he turned pro and he and his father ventured out to try and qualify for Nationwide Tour events. Soon O'Hair had a falling out with his father and went out on his own. He cut his teeth playing the Cleveland Pro Tour, Gateway Tour and Hooters Tour before finally making it to the PGA TOUR through q-school in 2005. Once there, O'Hair never looked back. Just days before his 23rd birthday he won the 2005 John Deere Classic, his first TOUR win. O'Hair went on to be ranked No. 53 in the world in his rookie season. What was the secret to O'Hair's win? The Wednesday prior to the tournament, O'Hair was struggling with his swing.
"I was so desperate, I went to a Borders down the road from my hotel to get a couple Jack Nicklaus books. Thursday morning I woke up and was trying it in the hotel room," O'Hair said. "I tried it on the range before I went and played on Thursday and just hit the ball probably the best I've ever hit it." In his first career major just one week later -- he qualified for the 2005 British Open because of his win -- O'Hair obtained a last-minute passport to travel to St. Andrews. After arriving just a day before the tournament started, O'Hair tied for 15th, and improved upon that a year later at Royal Liverpool, tying for 14th. O'Hair continues to succeed on TOUR in his third year. O'Hair had five top-10 finishes and 14 top-25s plus finished 58th in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Who will be No. 8? Hint: This golfer is an avid Clemson Tigers sports fan. |
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