O'Meara, now living in Houston, still enjoys competing against youngsters

HUMBLE, Texas -- Mark O'Meara moved to Houston with his new wife four years ago and has become involved through friends with The First Tee in Houston, one of the most successful chapters in the country.

That's what led him to ask for a sponsor's exemption to the Shell Houston Open, which he is playing for the first time in nearly 10 years.

''To come out and play with the young kids is always fun,'' O'Meara said. ''To see some new players on tour, see some of the older guys I played with a long time ago ... hopefully, I can get out there and play well. I understand that I'm not a young guy anymore, but I still think at 56 ... when I played in Dubai, I played well, made the cut. I beat about 12 or 13 other guys.''

One of the guys he played with was Oliver Fisher, and it was a sharp reminder of how long O'Meara has been around. He realized he first joined the PGA Tour before Fisher was even born.

''Reality starts to set in,'' O'Meara said. ''As time goes on, I realize how fortunate I've been to play an amazing game. I'm really excited about the opportunity to come and play at the Shell Houston Open. Like I said, I plan on trying to play well. No matter what happens, I'll give it my best out there.''

It has been 15 years since O'Meara set a record at age 41 as the oldest player to win two majors (Masters, British Open) in the same season.