Mark Calcavecchia

Early life

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

Amateur career

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

Professional career

Calcavecchia turned professional in 1981 and joined the PGA Tour in 1982, but lost his card after the 1985 season. 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.

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?" 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. 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. 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.

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. 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). 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. Calcavecchia joined the Champions Tour in 2010, but still plays a limited PGA Tour schedule that includes The Open Championship. His eligibility for The Open expired in 2020 after he turned 60, but after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled that tournament, he was grandfathered into the 2021 tournament, but was unable to attend due to surgery. Calcavecchia's exemption was extended to 2022.

Personal life

Calcavecchia has two children, Eric and Britney, with his ex-wife Sheryl. He has homes in Jupiter, Florida and Phoenix, Arizona.

Professional wins (29)

PGA Tour wins (13)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–4)

PGA Tour of Australia wins (1)

Korean Tour wins (1)

South American Tour wins (2)

• 1993 Argentine Open
• 1995 Argentine Open

Other wins (7)

Other playoff record (1–1)

PGA Tour Champions wins (4)

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (1–0)

Other senior wins (1)

• 2011 Nedbank Champions Challenge

Major championships

Wins (1)

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

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

DQ = Disqualified

WD = Withdrew

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

NT = No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

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

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

1Cancelled due to 9/11

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 2022.

CUT = missed the halfway cut

WD = withdrew

"T" indicates a tie for a place

NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1987, 1989 (tie), 1991 (winners), 2002
• Four Tours World Championship: 1987 (winners), 1989 (winners), 1990
• Dunhill Cup: 1989 (winners), 1990
• Presidents Cup: 1998
• UBS Warburg Cup: 2001 (winners)
• Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge: 2001 (PGA Tour), 2003 (PGA Tour, winners), 2005 (PGA Tour), 2011 (Champions Tour, winners)

References

References

1. "Mark Calcavecchia profile". PGA Tour.
2. Rosaforte, Tim. (February 1, 2010). "My Town: Mark Calcavecchia".
3. ''[http://www.fhsaa.org/sites/default/files/orig_uploads/records/rec_gob.pdf FHSAA Boys Golf 2010–11 Championship Records]'', Florida High School Athletic Association, Tallahassee, Florida, p. 5 (2010). Retrieved July 15, 2011.
4. Diaz, Jaime. (August 2002). "Regular Guy: Want a candid opinion? Brace yourself for straight talk from Mark Calcavecchia".
5. 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.
6. ''[http://web.gatorzone.com/golf/men/media/2010/supplement.pdf Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement] {{webarchive. link. (April 2, 2012 '', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 28, 34, 39, 41 (2010); retrieved July 11, 2011.)
7. (March 7, 1986). "Ex-caddy has lead at Doral Open". Spokesman-Review.
8. White Jr., Gordon S.. (July 24, 1989). "Calcavecchia Wins British Open in 3-way Playoff". The New York Times.
9. Reilly, Rick. (July 31, 1989). "High noon at Troon".
10. (2007). "The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations". Skyhorse Publishing.
11. Reilly, Rick. (July 31, 1989). "High Noon At Troon".
12. Garrity, John. (July 14, 1997). "Four Better, Four Worse".
13. Harig, Bob. (April 5, 2008). "Lyle still relishes memory of Masters-winning bunker shot". ESPN.
14. Official World Golf Rankings, Archives, [http://dps.endavadigital.net/owgr/doc/content/2007%20Stats/86TO0810.pdf 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking; retrieved July 15, 2011.] {{Webarchive. link. (October 17, 2015)
15. (July 26, 2009). "Calcavecchia sets birdie record". BBC Sport.
16. (July 25, 2009). "Calcavecchia sets record with nine straight birdies". PGA Tour.
17. (June 24, 2010). "Calcavecchia ready for Champions Tour debut". Golf.com.
18. He married, secondly, on May 5, 2005 in [[Lake Como]], [[Italy]], to Brenda Nardecchia.[http://www.golftoday.co.uk/news/yeartodate/news05/calcavecchia.html Mark Calcavecchia is late for his wedding], ''Golf Today''; retrieved July 15, 2011.