Mark O’Meara entered the media tent and proudly exclaimed “The rookie’s here.” He then added how great it is to turn 50 and have people calling you a rookie.

O’Meara, a two-time major championship winner on the PGA Tour and 1998 Player of the Year, is making his Champions Tour debut at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. He said he felt very welcome, with his fellow competitors calling him “rookie” all week.

He’ll take the playful jabs with the hope that this newest venture in his golf career pumps new life into his game, which admittedly has struggled recently.

“Anytime you do something new, it kind of gets the juices flowing,” O’Meara said.