Mark O'Meara coming off season best

A familiar course led a familiar face to what of late had been an unfamiliar finish.

Two-time major winner Mark O’Meara is 61 now. He hasn’t won on PGA TOUR Champions since 2010 and hasn’t really been in contention since 2015.

But the 1998 Masters and British Open champion found himself just a shot off the lead after two rounds at the Ally Challenge this past weekend following his 8-under 64.

O’Meara was just one of many players enjoying the return of TOUR golf to Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan. The course had played host to the PGA TOUR’s Buick Open from 1978-2009, an event in which O’Meara made his first appearance in 1981.

He had four top-10 finishes there upon which to draw happy memories. They spanned 20 years of his career – a T8 in 1984 bookended by a T10 in 2004, with a runner-up finish to good friend Tiger Woods in 2002 for good measure.

His 64 was his best round on PGA TOUR Champions since a third-round 64 at the 2015 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.

“I drove the ball really well, got off to a great start,” O’Meara said about his second round. “Started on 10 and I birdied the first five holes on the back nine. I just made one lone bogey out there. I was never really in a lot of trouble. So anytime you shoot 64 -- I've been hitting the ball decent the past couple months, but I just haven't made any putts. The last two days I've rolled the ball better.”

O’Meara hung in on Sunday and at one point held a share of the lead. But no one could stick with Englishman Paul Broadhurst, who earned his third title of 2018 with a final-round 66. O’Meara fought his way to a 69, which left him in a tie for third. It nonetheless was his first top 10 in an individual event since a T8 at the 2016 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai and his best finish since a T3 at the Boeing Classic in 2015.

“It's obviously very exciting to come back,” O’Meara said. “We're thrilled that Ally stepped up to the plate to bring golf back to the Grand Blanc-Flint area, come back to Warwick Hills where we played so many times on the PGA TOUR. It's brought back a lot of fond memories. The support from the community has been tremendous.

“ … Everybody says thanks for coming back. What's nice is the fact that a lot of the guys that are playing here on the PGA TOUR Champions are guys that made their career on the PGA TOUR and people kind of remember the guys of our kind of generation, our age. So their support has been tremendous and certainly we appreciate them all coming out and following us.”

The galleries were large, which always gets the attention of the players. It brings out their competitive fire and desire. The golf course was just as they remembered, too.

Kenny Perry, a two-time Buick Open champion said he stepped back on the course for the first time since 2009 and it felt like a time warp. There might be a few less trees, but otherwise the players had praise for the conditions and the large greens.

“I think everyone feels the same about the course,” said Jeff Maggert, who finished in a tie for eighth. “We all know the course well because we played here so many times, so I think everyone was looking forward to getting here and playing and making some birdies.

“It felt like the same as it did 25 years ago. I think if you put me out here in the fairway, I wouldn't know the difference in time. The course is the same as it was. It's a great course. The greens have always been some of the best greens we ever putted and that's why you see a lot of low scores here.”

O’Meara ranked sixth in putting for the week, and he was second in birdies with 17. His finish at the Ally Challenge moved him into the top 50 in the Schwab Cup standings.

Maybe it was his unusual preparation method for his return to Warwick Hills that pushed him up the leaderboard.

“I spent all last week up in the river in British Columbia for five days steelhead fishing for eight hours in the water -- wading, swinging flies for steelhead,” O’Meara said. “Sometimes whenever fall comes around, I go on my fishing trips, so I've already planned my next one.”