Mark Calcavecchia

Mark John Calcavecchia (born June 12, 1960) is an American professional golfer and a former PGA Tour member. During his professional career, he won 13 PGA Tour events, including the 1989 Open Championship. He plays on the Champions Tour as well as a limited PGA Tour schedule that includes The Open Championship.

Mark Calcavecchia
Calcavecchia at 2008 Open Championship
Personal information
Full nameMark John Calcavecchia
NicknameCalc
Born (1960-06-12) June 12, 1960
Laurel, Nebraska
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight215 lb (98 kg; 15.4 st)
Nationality United States
ResidencePalm Beach Gardens, Florida
Career
CollegeUniversity of Florida
Turned professional1981
Current tour(s)PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins29
Highest ranking5 (July 23, 1989)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour13
European Tour1
PGA Tour of Australasia1
PGA Tour Champions4
Other10 (regular)
1 (senior)
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters Tournament2nd: 1988
PGA ChampionshipT4: 2001
U.S. Open14th: 1986
The Open ChampionshipWon: 1989
Achievements and awards
Byron Nelson Award
(Champions Tour)		2011

Early years

Calcavecchia was born in Laurel, Nebraska.[2] While he was a teenager, his family moved from Nebraska to West Palm Beach, Florida in 1973.[3]

He attended North Shore High School in West Palm Beach, and won the Florida high school golf championship in 1977 while playing for the North Shore golf team.[4] While playing in junior tournaments, Calcavecchia often competed against Jack Nicklaus' son, Jackie, and as a result began a lifelong friendship at the age of 14 with the legendary pro.[5][6]

College career

He accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he played for coach Buster Bishop and coach John Darr's Florida Gators men's golf teams in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 1978 to 1980.[7] Calcavecchia earned first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors in 1979.[7]

Professional career

Calcavecchia turned professional in 1981 and joined the PGA Tour in 1982, but lost his card after the 1985 season.[8] His most notable achievement was in 1989, when he won The Open Championship (the "British Open"), one of the four major championships, by beating Wayne Grady and Greg Norman in a four-hole playoff at Royal Troon in Scotland.[9][10]

Upon being awarded the Open's Claret Jug, Calcavecchia (whose Italian surname translates as "old crowd") asked "How's my name going to fit on that thing?"[11] He later revealed that he had initially not wanted to play in the Open Championship that year due to his wife expecting their first child, but he was persuaded to fly to Scotland to compete in the tournament by his wife.[12] He also revealed that he didn't know that the Open Championship had a four-hole aggregate playoff format until just before he teed off in the playoff.[13] Calcavecchia shares the record for the lowest back nine in the Masters at 29, in 1992. 1989 was Calcavecchia's only multiple-win season on the PGA Tour, with two other titles complementing the Open. He also finished second behind Sandy Lyle at the 1988 Masters Tournament by a single stroke.[14]

Calcavecchia has won 13 times on the PGA Tour and 13 times in other professional events. He spent 109 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings from 1988-91.[15] In winning the 2001 Phoenix Open, he set the Tour scoring record at that time by making 32 birdies in 72 holes finishing at 28 under par for the tournament. He has won the Phoenix Open three times (1989, 1992, 2001), and his margins of victory in the Phoenix tournament are also his three largest. He was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1987, 1989, 1991 and 2002. His performance in 1991 is most remembered, as he lost a four-hole lead to Colin Montgomerie in the last four holes of his round. Thinking he had cost his team the victory, he broke down in tears—not knowing the U.S. team would still win.

On July 25, 2009, Calcavecchia set a PGA Tour record by getting nine consecutive birdies during his second round at the RBC Canadian Open at the Glen Abbey Golf Course in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. The birdies came on the 12th through 18th holes, and then on the first and second hole (he started his round on the 10th hole).[16] The previous record of eight consecutive birdies was held by six golfers including J. P. Hayes, who was one of his partners at the time Calcavecchia achieved the new record.[17]

Calcavecchia joined the Champions Tour in 2010,[6][18] but still plays a limited PGA Tour schedule that includes The Open Championship. His eligibility for The Open will expire in 2020 after he turns 60, but after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled that tournament, he was grandfathered into the 2021 tournament.

Personal

Calcavecchia has two children, Eric and Britney, with his previous wife Sheryl.[5] He married, secondly, on May 5, 2005 in Lake Como, Italy, to Brenda Nardecchia.[19] He has homes in Jupiter, Florida and Phoenix, Arizona.[3][6]

Professional wins (29)

PGA Tour wins (13)
Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (12)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Sep 28, 1986 Southwest Golf Classic −13 (68-70-66-71=275) 3 strokes Tom Byrum
2 Mar 8, 1987 Honda Classic −9 (69-72-68-70=279) 3 strokes Bernhard Langer, Payne Stewart
3 Sep 18, 1988 Bank of Boston Classic −10 (71-67-70-66=274) 1 stroke Don Pooley
4 Jan 22, 1989 Phoenix Open −21 (66-68-65-64=263) 7 strokes Chip Beck
5 Feb 5, 1989 Nissan Los Angeles Open −12 (68-66-70-68=272) 1 stroke Sandy Lyle
6 Jul 23, 1989 The Open Championship −13 (71-68-68-68=275) Playoff Wayne Grady, Greg Norman
7 Jan 26, 1992 Phoenix Open (2) −20 (69-65-67-63=264) 5 strokes Duffy Waldorf
8 May 7, 1995 BellSouth Classic −17 (67-69-69-66=271) 2 strokes Jim Gallagher Jr.
9 Aug 24, 1997 Greater Vancouver Open −19 (68-66-65-66=265) 1 stroke Andrew Magee
10 Mar 15, 1998 Honda Classic (2) −18 (70-67-68-65=270) 3 strokes Vijay Singh
11 Jan 28, 2001 Phoenix Open (3) −28 (65-60-64-67=256) 8 strokes Rocco Mediate
12 Sep 11, 2005 Bell Canadian Open −5 (65-67-72-71=275) 1 stroke Ben Crane, Ryan Moore
13 Mar 11, 2007 PODS Championship −10 (75-67-62-70=274) 1 stroke John Senden, Heath Slocum

PGA Tour playoff record (1–4)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1987 Byron Nelson Golf Classic Fred Couples Lost to par on third extra hole
2 1989 The Open Championship Wayne Grady, Greg Norman Won four-hole aggregate playoff;
Calcavecchia: −2 (4-3-3-3=13),
Grady: +1 (4-4-4-4=16),
Norman: x (3-3-4-x=x)
3 1990 Doral-Ryder Open Paul Azinger, Greg Norman,
Tim Simpson		 Norman won with eagle on first extra hole
4 1993 Greater Milwaukee Open Billy Mayfair, Ted Schulz Mayfair won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Schulz eliminated with par on first hole
5 2005 Chrysler Classic of Tucson Kevin Na, Geoff Ogilvy Ogilvy won with birdie on second extra hole
Calcavecchia eliminated with par on first hole

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)
Legend
Australian Opens (1)
Other PGA Tour of Australasia (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Nov 27, 1988 National Panasonic Australian Open −19 (67-67-66-69=269) 6 strokes Mark McCumber

Korean Tour wins (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 May 9, 2004 Maekyung Open −6 (282) 2 strokes Jang Ik-jae

South American Tour wins (2)

Other wins (7)

PGA Tour Champions wins (4)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Aug 28, 2011 Boeing Classic −14 (70-67-65=202) Playoff Russ Cochran
2 Jun 24, 2012 Montreal Championship −16 (69-67-64=200) 4 strokes Brad Bryant
3 Jun 7, 2015 Principal Charity Classic −12 (67-68-69=204) 1 stroke Joe Durant, Brian Henninger
4 Feb 11, 2018 Boca Raton Championship −16 (64-66-70=200) 2 strokes Bernhard Langer

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2011 Boeing Classic Russ Cochran Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other senior wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (1)
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
1989The Open Championship3 shot deficit−13 (71-68-68-68=275)Playoff1 Wayne Grady, Greg Norman

1Defeated Grady and Norman in a four-hole aggregate playoff: Calcavecchia (4-3-3-3=13), Grady (4-4-4-4=16), Norman (3-3-4-x)

Results timeline
Tournament 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T17 2 T31
U.S. Open 14 T17 T62 T61
The Open Championship T11 CUT 1
PGA Championship CUT T17
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament T20 T12 T31 T17 CUT T41 T15 T17 T16 CUT
U.S. Open CUT T37 T33 T25 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT CUT T28 T14 T11 T24 T41 T10 T35 CUT
PGA Championship CUT T32 T48 T31 CUT CUT T36 T23 T44 T61
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament T4 CUT CUT T20 CUT
U.S. Open T24 CUT T20 T20 CUT WD
The Open Championship T26 T54 T80 CUT T11 T60 T41 T23 CUT T27
PGA Championship T34 T4 7 T39 DQ T70 WD CUT T63
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship 73 CUT T9 CUT CUT CUT CUT
PGA Championship
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

DQ = Disqualified
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament01022101813
U.S. Open0000062010
The Open Championship1001393019
PGA Championship0001242114
Totals11047298956
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (1991 PGA – 1993 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (seven times)

Results in The Players Championship
Tournament 1987 1988 1989
The Players Championship T50 T64 CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Players Championship CUT 73 CUT T23 T18 T29 T24 4 T10 CUT
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The Players Championship 2 CUT T69 T11 T66 T12 72 CUT CUT
Tournament 2010
The Players Championship CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships
Tournament1999200020012002200320042005200620072008
Match Play R64 R16 R16 R64 R64
Championship 10 NT1 T33 T30
Invitational T12 74 T68

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Results in senior major championships

Results are not in chronological order prior to 2017.

Tournament2010201120122013201420152016201720182019
The Tradition T4 T5 T18 T12 2 T52 T33 WD WD T57
Senior PGA Championship T13 T12 CUT T15 CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Senior Open T24 3 T12 T54 CUT CUT T51 CUT CUT CUT
Senior Players Championship WD 12 T4 T9 WD T20 T76 T41 T32 T46
Senior British Open Championship T14 2 T10 T65 T51 70 T24
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

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See also

References
  1. "Week 29 1989 Ending 23 Jul 1989" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  2. "Mark Calcavecchia profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  3. Rosaforte, Tim (February 1, 2010). "My Town: Mark Calcavecchia". Golf Digest. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  4. FHSAA Boys Golf 2010–11 Championship Records, Florida High School Athletic Association, Tallahassee, Florida, p. 5 (2010). Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  5. Diaz, Jaime (August 2002). "Regular Guy: Want a candid opinion? Brace yourself for straight talk from Mark Calcavecchia". Golf Digest. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  6. Thompson, Edgar (May 25, 2010). "Mark Calcavecchia, a Palm Beach Gardens resident, will leave PGA Tour to focus on Champions events". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  7. Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 28, 34, 39, 41 (2010); retrieved July 11, 2011.
  8. "Ex-caddy has lead at Doral Open". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 7, 1986. p. 27.
  9. White Jr., Gordon S. (July 24, 1989). "Calcavecchia Wins British Open in 3-way Playoff". The New York Times. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  10. Reilly, Rick (July 31, 1989). "High noon at Troon". Sports Illustrated.
  11. Apfelbaum, Jim, ed. (2007). The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations. New York, New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-014-0.
  12. Reilly, Rick (July 31, 1989). "High Noon At Troon". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  13. Garrity, John (July 14, 1997). "Four Better, Four Worse". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  14. Harig, Bob (April 5, 2008). "Lyle still relishes memory of Masters-winning bunker shot". ESPN. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  15. Official World Golf Rankings, Archives, 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking; retrieved July 15, 2011.
  16. "Calcavecchia sets birdie record". BBC Sport. July 26, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  17. "Calcavecchia sets record with nine straight birdies". PGA Tour. Associated Press. July 25, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  18. "Calcavecchia ready for Champions Tour debut". Golf.com. Associated Press. June 24, 2010. Archived from the original on February 3, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  19. Mark Calcavecchia is late for his wedding, Golf Today; retrieved July 15, 2011.
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