Sean O'Hair Has Travelled a Tough Road To Success

He’s not as flashy as Anthony Kim or Camilo Villegas, nor as young as Rory McIlroy or Danny Lee, however, Sean O’Hair might just be the best player in the world under the age of 30.

O’Hair’s win at Quail Hollow this past weekend was the third of his young PGA Tour career.

That’s one more win than Kim and Villegas and two more than McIlroy and Lee, who each have wins on the European Tour.

Over the past three years, O’Hair as more top-10 finishes than Anthony Kim and just one less than Villegas, who is a year older than O’Hair.

This year alone, O’Hair leads the PGA Tour in top-10 finishes and scoring average and has earned just under $3 million.

He’s not a sex symbol, doesn’t wear a belt with a 10-pound diamond buckle, and rarely, if ever, appears in television commercials.

O’Hair has quietly gone about his business over the past few years, which is more than likely just fine with him after the slew of media attention he was given early on in his career.

Sean O’Hair’s tough love childhood has been well documented over the years.

O’Hair turned pro after his junior year of high school and while travelling the country with his overly intense father he was actually punished for not playing well in mini tour events.

As O’Hair’s confidence and maturity grew both on and off the golf course, he eventually parted ways with his father and has not spoken to him in years.

O’Hair, who is originally from Texas, now lives with his wife near her family in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Over the past few years, O’Hair’s in-laws have been the only family he’s known and their love and support seem to have played a major role in helping O’Hair overcome his troubled childhood and succeed on the PGA Tour.

Nearly every player on the PGA Tour has their own intriguing story of struggle and fortitude as they made their way onto the PGA Tour. 

But, few have had to struggle, both physically and mentally, as much as Sean O’Hair.

O’Hair was under constant mental strain both on and off the golf course for more than five years as he played on mini tours and attempted to get through the PGA Tour’s qualifying school.

O’Hair is probably better known for his losses rather than for his success.

In 2007, O’Hair trailed Michelson by just two-strokes in the final round of the Players Championship before hitting two-balls into the water on the par-three 17th and recording a quadruple bogey which eventually cost him nearly $750,000 in prize money.

Most recently, O’Hair is best known by casual golf fans as the guy who squandered a five-stroke lead to Tiger Woods at the Arnold Palmer Invitational just over five weeks ago.

O’Hair has certainly experienced some hiccups along the way.

However, at the young age of 26, O’Hair could now very well be the best player in the world under the age of 30, and his road to success has been as difficult if not more difficult than just about anyone else that currently enjoys life on the PGA Tour.

After the physical and mental strain O’Hair has already endured in his young life, major championship pressure might seem like a walk in the park for him in the coming years.