More Information About Sean O'Hair
This article is about the professional golfer. For the pro wrestler, see Sean O'Haire. Sean M. O'Hair (born July 11, 1982) is an American professional golfer.
O'Hair was born in Lubbock, Texas. Unlike the vast majority of contemporary American professional golfers,[citation needed] O'Hair did not go to college. He turned professional in 1999 after his junior year at high school at Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona under the direction of his father, Marc O'Hair, who sold his share of the family shutter business in Lubbock for $2.75 million to develop Sean into a touring pro. The elder O'Hair moved the family to Florida and enrolled Sean in the David Leadbetter Golf Academy.
A featured article by Steve Elling in the January 21, 2005 Golf World alleged:
Marc O'Hair, 52, signed management contracts with his son, says he invested $2 million in his boy's professional future and subjected Sean to a physical and psychological regimen that would make most drill sergeants blush. Sean broke free in 2002 and has not spoken to his father since a perfunctory greeting at Sean's wedding more than two years ago.[1]
Professional career
O'Hair entered PGA Tour Qualifying School regularly from 1999, but was unsuccessful at his first five attempts. He played on various developmental tours: the PGA Tour's official second-level developmental Nationwide Tour, the third-level Gateway Tour and the Cleveland Golf Pro Tour. He had limited success, making the cut in only four out of eighteen starts at Nationwide Tour level.
In 2004 O'Hair made it through all three stages of PGA Tour Qualifying. His 2005 season was a dramatic success. He won the John Deere Classic and finished second at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. His season earnings came to $2,461,482 and he won PGA Rookie of the Year honors. In March 2006 he was the youngest man in the top fifty of the Official World Golf Rankings. After he established himself as the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year distinction with his strong finish at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship and victory at the John Deere Classic, his estranged relationship with his father, already highlighted on a 2002 episode of 60 Minutes,[2] became well-publicized. It was also profiled by Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly.
O'Hair's 2006 season was less successful. He dropped out of the top fifty---finishing no higher than fourth at the Buick Open in Michigan---but returned to the list with a 3rd place at the Canadian Open. He continued to play well in major events, finishing in the top fifteen at the British Open and the PGA Championship. He finished at +13, tied for 26th, at the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.
2007 PGA Tour
The "Island Green" 17th hole at the at TPC Sawgrass. The teeing ground is off the bottom of the picture.
In 2007, caddied by his father-in-law Steve Lucas, O'Hair recorded his first top-10 of the year, a tie for 7th, at the Verizon Heritage. His second-round 66 matched his low round for the season. The 7th place was his best finish on the PGA Tour since the 2006 Canadian Open.
On May 12, 2007, at The Players Championship at the TPC at Sawgrass, O'Hair led Phil Mickelson by a stroke after the 3rd round. A birdie two on the "Island Green" 17th hole after he had feared he had flown the green with a 9-iron, and a birdie-birdie-birdie finish for a round of 66, gave him a 9-under-par 207 after 54 holes.
In the final round O'Hair, playing in the final pairing with Mickelson, was in second place when they came to the 17th, trailing by two strokes. Mickelson played safely to the center of the multi-tiered green but O'Hair, in an effort to cut into the lead with birdie, elected to go for the pin and his tee shot flew over the green into the water. His third shot, from the drop area, also ended up in the water and he finished the hole with a quadruple bogey 7. O'Hair went on to bogey the 18th, dropping him from a second to eleventh place, which cost O'Hair approximately $747,000 in prize money.
Since late 2007, he has been caddied by former PGA golfer (and former caddy for Vijay Singh) Paul Tesori.
2008 PGA Tour
On March 9, 2008, O'Hair came from three strokes back (behind Stewart Cink) to win the PODS Championship by two strokes with a final score of 4-under-par.
2009 PGA Tour
At the Arnold Palmer Invitational, O'Hair entered the final round with a five stroke lead but lost by one stroke to Tiger Woods as Woods birdied the 72nd hole to win the tournament for the second year in a row.
On May 3, 2009, after starting the final round three strokes behind Zach Johnson, O'Hair won the Quail Hollow Championship by one stroke over Lucas Glover and Bubba Watson. O'Hair survived two late bogies during his final round of 69 to claim his third PGA Tour victory.[3]
O'Hair finished the season ranked sixth on the money list and had reached the top 15 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
Family
O'Hair and his wife Jackie married in December 2002. They have three children, Molly, Luke, and Grady.
Professional wins (6)
PGA Tour wins (3)
| No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Winning Score |
Margin of
Victory |
Runner(s)-up |
| 1 |
Jul 10, 2005 |
John Deere Classic |
-16 (66-69-66-65=268) |
1 stroke |
 Robert Damron, Hank Kuehne |
| 2 |
Mar 9, 2008 |
PODS Championship |
-4 (69-71-71-69=280) |
2 strokes |
Stewart Cink,  Ryuji Imada, Troy Matteson,
Billy Mayfair, George McNeill,  John Senden |
| 3 |
May 3, 2009 |
Quail Hollow Championship |
-11 (69-72-67-69=277) |
1 stroke |
Lucas Glover, Bubba Watson |
Other wins (3)
- 2003 Blackstone Open (New England Pro Golf Tour)
- 2004 Sterling Open (New England Pro Golf Tour), Vermont Open
Results in major championships
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
United States national team appearances
References
External links
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