During the 3M Championship, I had just finished playing in a pro-am for women golfers and was invited to a reception at the 3M tent. It had been a great day so far, but it would soon get better.

O'Meara was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and took up golf at 13 years old when he lived in Mission Viejo, California. He was an All-American at Long Beach State and won the U.S. Amateur in 1979.