Here’s a closer look at golfers blowing out their candles on January 11-12.
January 11
Two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw turns 63. After winning three straight NCAA titles for the University of Texas, he turned pro in 1973 and became just the second player to win the first event of his career – The San Antonio Open. After five straight second-place finishes at Majors, defeated Tom Watson by two strokes to win the 1984 Masters. His final PGA tournament win was the 1995 Masters, a 1-stroke victory over Davis Love III. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.
January 12
Current Web.com Tour member Rob Oppenheim turns 35.
Craig Parry, two-time PGA winner, turns 49. He mainly plays on the Japan Golf Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia. He tied for third at the 1993 US Open and for fourth at the 1999 Open Championship.
January 13
Mark O’Meara, who will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame this year, turns 58. O’Meara has 34 professional wins, including 16 on the PGA Tour – winning two Majors, the 1998 Masters and Open Championships. Winning that pair in the same year added him to the short list of Ben Hogan (1953), Arnold Palmer (1962), Jack Nickalus (1966), Tom Watson (1977), and Nick Faldo (1990) of golfers to accomplish the feat.
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