Mark Calcavecchia

Mark Calcavecchia
— Golfer —
Calcavecchia at 2008 Open Championship
Personal information
Full name	Mark John Calcavecchia
Nickname	Calc
Born	(1960-06-12) June 12, 1960 Laurel, Nebraska
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg; 15.4 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Career
College	University of Florida
Turned professional	1981
Current tour(s)	Champions Tour
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	31
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	13
Asian Tour	1
PGA Tour of Australasia	1
Champions Tour	3
Other	13
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	2nd: 1988
U.S. Open	14th: 1986
The Open Championship	Won: 1989
PGA Championship	T4: 2001
Achievements and awards
Byron Nelson Award (Champions Tour)	2011

Mark John Calcavecchia (born June 12, 1960) is an American professional golfer and a former PGA Tour member. During his professional career, he has won thirteen PGA Tour events, including the 1989 Open Championship. Calcavecchia currently plays on the Champions Tour.

Early years

Calcavecchia was born in Laurel, Nebraska.^[1] While he was a teenager, his family moved from Nebraska to West Palm Beach, Florida in 1973.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4]^[5]

College career

He accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, 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.^[6] Calcavecchia earned first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors in 1979.^[6]

Professional career

Calcavecchia turned professional in 1981 and joined the PGA Tour in 1982. Calcavecchia was at his best in the late 1980s. His most notable achievement was in 1989, when he won The Open Championship (the "British Open"), one of golf's four major championships, by beating Wayne Grady and Greg Norman in a four-hole playoff.^[7] 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?"^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11]

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 to 1991.^[12] 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.

Calcavecchia 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).^[13] 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.^[14]

Calcavecchia joined the Champions Tour in 2010,^[5]^[15] but still plays a limited PGA Tour schedule that includes The Open Championship.

Personal

Calcavecchia has two children, Eric and Britney, with his previous wife Sheryl.^[4] He married Brenda Nardecchia on May 5, 2005 in Lake Como, Italy.^[16] Calcavecchia's principal home is Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, but he also owns a house in Phoenix, Arizona.^[2]^[5]

Professional wins (31)

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	−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	−18 (70-67-68-65=270)	3 strokes	Vijay Singh
11	Jan 28, 2001	Phoenix Open	−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.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1987	Byron Nelson Golf Classic	Fred Couples	Lost to birdie on third extra hole
2	1989	The Open Championship	Wayne Grady, Greg Norman	Won 4-hole playoff (Calcavecchia:4-3-3-3=13, Grady:4-4-4-4=16, Norman:3-3-4-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

Champions Tour wins (3)

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

Champions Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2011	Boeing Classic	Russ Cochran	Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other senior wins (2)

2011 Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Kenny Perry and Jay Haas), Nedbank Champions Challenge

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runners-up
1989	The Open Championship	3 shot deficit	−13 (71-68-68-68=275)	Playoff¹	Wayne Grady, Greg Norman

¹Shot 13 (4-3-3-3) in a four hole playoff to defeat Wayne Grady (4-4-4-4=16) and Greg Norman (3-3-4-x).

Results timeline

Tournament	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	DNP	T17	2	T31
U.S. Open	14	T17	T62	T61
The Open Championship	DNP	T11	CUT	1
PGA Championship	DNP	CUT	T17	DNP

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	DNP	T4	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	T20	CUT	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	T24	CUT	T20	T20	DNP	CUT	DNP	WD	DNP
The Open Championship	T26	T54	T80	CUT	T11	T60	T41	T23	CUT	T27
PGA Championship	T34	T4	7	T39	DQ	T70	WD	CUT	T63	DNP

Tournament	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	73	CUT	T9	CUT	DNP	CUT
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play
DQ = Disqualified
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	1	2	2	10	18	13
U.S. Open	0	0	0	0	6	20	10
The Open Championship	1	0	1	3	9	28	19
PGA Championship	0	0	1	2	4	21	14
Totals	1	1	4	7	29	87	56

Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (1991 PGA – 1993 PGA)
Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (seven times)

Results in senior major championships

Results are not in chronological order prior to 2014.

Tournament	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
The Tradition	T4	T5	T18	T12	2	T52
Senior PGA Championship	DNP	T13	T12	CUT	T15	CUT
Senior Players Championship	WD	12	T4	T9	WD	T20
U.S. Senior Open	T24	3	T12	T54	CUT	CUT
Senior British Open Championship	T14	2	T10	T65	DNP	T51

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10.

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

Ryder Cup: 1987, 1989 (tie), 1991 (winners), 2002
Dunhill Cup: 1989 (winners), 1990
Presidents Cup: 1998

References

↑ "Mark Calcavecchia profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
1 2 Rosaforte, Tim (February 1, 2010). "My Town: Mark Calcavecchia". Golf Digest. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
↑ FHSAA Boys Golf 2010–11 Championship Records, Florida High School Athletic Association, Tallahassee, Florida, p. 5 (2010). Retrieved July 15, 2011.
1 2 Diaz, Jaime (August 2002). "Regular Guy: Want a candid opinion? Brace yourself for straight talk from Mark Calcavecchia". Golf Digest. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
1 2 3 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.
1 2 Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 28, 34, 39, 41 (2010). Retrieved July 11, 2011.
↑ White, Jr., Gordon S. (July 24, 1989). "Calcavecchia Wins British Open in 3-way Playoff". The New York Times. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
↑ Apfelbaum, Jim, ed. (2007). The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations. New York, New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-014-0.
↑ Reilly, Rick (July 31, 1989). "High Noon At Troon". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
↑ Garrity, John (July 14, 1997). "Four Better, Four Worse". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
↑ Harig, Bob (April 5, 2008). "Lyle still relishes memory of Masters-winning bunker shot". ESPN. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
↑ Official World Golf Rankings, Archives, "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking." Retrieved July 15, 2011.
↑ "Calcavecchia sets birdie record]". BBC Sport. July 26, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
↑ "Calcavecchia sets record with nine straight birdies". PGA Tour. Associated Press. July 25, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
↑ "Calcavecchia ready for Champions Tour debut". Golf.com. Associated Press. June 24, 2010. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
↑ "Mark Calcavecchia is late for his wedding," Golf Today (Undated May 2005). Retrieved July 15, 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mark Calcavecchia.

Mark Calcavecchia at the PGA Tour official site
Mark Calcavecchia at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
Mark Calcavecchia at Gaylord Sports

The Open Championship champions

1860 Willie Park Sr. 1861 Tom Morris Sr. 1862 Tom Morris Sr. 1863 Willie Park Sr. 1864 Tom Morris Sr. 1865 Andrew Strath 1866 Willie Park Sr. 1867 Tom Morris Sr. 1868 Tom Morris Jr. 1869 Tom Morris Jr. 1870 Tom Morris Jr. 1871 No championship 1872 Tom Morris Jr. 1873 Tom Kidd 1874 Mungo Park 1875 Willie Park Sr. 1876 Bob Martin† 1877 Jamie Anderson 1878 Jamie Anderson 1879 Jamie Anderson 1880 Bob Ferguson 1881 Bob Ferguson 1882 Bob Ferguson 1883 Willie Fernie† 1884 Jack Simpson 1885 Bob Martin 1886 David Brown 1887 Willie Park Jr. 1888 Jack Burns 1889 Willie Park Jr.† 1890 John Ball# 1891 Hugh Kirkaldy 1892 Harold Hilton# 1893 William Auchterlonie 1894 John Henry Taylor 1895 John Henry Taylor 1896 Harry Vardon† 1897 Harold Hilton# 1898 Harry Vardon 1899 Harry Vardon 1900 John Henry Taylor 1901 James Braid 1902 Sandy Herd 1903 Harry Vardon 1904 Jack White 1905 James Braid 1906 James Braid 1907 Arnaud Massy 1908 James Braid 1909 John Henry Taylor 1910 James Braid 1911 Harry Vardon† 1912‡ Edward Ray 1913 John Henry Taylor 1914 Harry Vardon 1915-19 No Championships due to World War I 1920 George Duncan 1921 Jock Hutchison† 1922 Walter Hagen 1923 Arthur Havers 1924 Walter Hagen 1925 Jim Barnes 1926 Bobby Jones# 1927‡ Bobby Jones# 1928 Walter Hagen 1929 Walter Hagen 1930 Bobby Jones# 1931 Tommy Armour 1932‡ Gene Sarazen 1933 Denny Shute† 1934‡ Henry Cotton 1935 Alf Perry 1936 Alf Padgham 1937 Henry Cotton 1938 Reg Whitcombe 1939 Dick Burton 1940-45 No Championships due to World War II 1946 Sam Snead 1947 Fred Daly 1948 Henry Cotton 1949 Bobby Locke† 1950 Bobby Locke 1951 Max Faulkner 1952 Bobby Locke 1953 Ben Hogan 1954 Peter Thomson 1955 Peter Thomson 1956 Peter Thomson 1957 Bobby Locke 1958 Peter Thomson† 1959 Gary Player 1960 Kel Nagle 1961 Arnold Palmer 1962 Arnold Palmer 1963 Bob Charles† 1964 Tony Lema 1965 Peter Thomson 1966 Jack Nicklaus 1967 Roberto De Vicenzo 1968 Gary Player 1969 Tony Jacklin 1970 Jack Nicklaus† 1971 Lee Trevino 1972 Lee Trevino 1973‡ Tom Weiskopf 1974 Gary Player 1975 Tom Watson† 1976 Johnny Miller 1977 Tom Watson 1978 Jack Nicklaus 1979 Seve Ballesteros 1980 Tom Watson 1981 Bill Rogers 1982 Tom Watson 1983 Tom Watson 1984 Seve Ballesteros 1985 Sandy Lyle 1986 Greg Norman 1987 Nick Faldo 1988 Seve Ballesteros 1989 Mark Calcavecchia† 1990 Nick Faldo 1991 Ian Baker-Finch 1992 Nick Faldo 1993 Greg Norman 1994 Nick Price 1995 John Daly† 1996 Tom Lehman 1997 Justin Leonard 1998 Mark O'Meara† 1999 Paul Lawrie† 2000 Tiger Woods 2001 David Duval 2002 Ernie Els† 2003 Ben Curtis 2004 Todd Hamilton† 2005‡ Tiger Woods 2006 Tiger Woods 2007 Pádraig Harrington† 2008 Pádraig Harrington 2009 Stewart Cink† 2010 Louis Oosthuizen 2011 Darren Clarke 2012 Ernie Els 2013 Phil Mickelson 2014‡ Rory McIlroy 2015 Zach Johnson†

† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire in 72-holes; # indicates the event was won by an amateur

Mark Calcavecchia in the Ryder Cup

United States Ryder Cup team – 1987

Andy Bean Mark Calcavecchia Ben Crenshaw Tom Kite Larry Mize Larry Nelson Dan Pohl Scott Simpson Payne Stewart Curtis Strange Hal Sutton Lanny Wadkins Jack Nicklaus (non-playing captain)

Lost: 13 – 15

United States Ryder Cup team – 1989

Paul Azinger Chip Beck Mark Calcavecchia Fred Couples Ken Green Tom Kite Mark McCumber Mark O'Meara Payne Stewart Curtis Strange Lanny Wadkins Tom Watson Raymond Floyd (non-playing captain)

Tied: 14 – 14

United States Ryder Cup team – 1991

Paul Azinger Chip Beck Mark Calcavecchia Fred Couples Raymond Floyd Hale Irwin Wayne Levi Mark O'Meara Steve Pate Corey Pavin Payne Stewart Lanny Wadkins Dave Stockton (non-playing captain)

Won: 14.5 – 13.5

United States Ryder Cup team – 2002

Paul Azinger Mark Calcavecchia Stewart Cink David Duval Jim Furyk Scott Hoch Davis Love III Phil Mickelson Hal Sutton David Toms Scott Verplank Tiger Woods Curtis Strange (non-playing captain)

Lost: 12.5 – 15.5

United States Presidents Cup team – 1998

Mark Calcavecchia Fred Couples David Duval Jim Furyk Scott Hoch John Huston Lee Janzen Justin Leonard Davis Love III Phil Mickelson Mark O'Meara Tiger Woods Jack Nicklaus (non-playing captain)

Lost: 11.5 – 20.5

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