Mark Calcavecchia - Part 2 (Tour Wins and the 1989 Open Championship)

Outro Music 0:07

Straight down the middle. It went straight down the middle.

Bruce Devlin 0:13

Then it started to one win in 87, and then in 88 you win uh Bank of Boston, right?

Mark Calcavecchia 0:21

Bank of Boston. That's that's really when I hit my my my peak stride in golf. Uh I won at Pleasant Valley, Bank of Boston, uh in the fall of 88. Uh nearly won the tour championship, I think, at Pebble Beach. I think I finished second or third there. And then went on uh down to uh Sydney, Australia and won the Australian Open. Uh which by like seven or eight. Uh I was I was just playing phenomenal. Uh next thing you know, '89 shows up and uh played good in the hope, and maybe somewhere else, San Diego, and then uh boom, I won Phoenix by about eight. Uh went up to Pebble Beach, didn't play too good, potted bad, I remember, and then uh next week, you know, I didn't lose my confidence, and then I won LA at Riviera. So, you know, winning two out of three weeks was was awesome. I was super confident. Had some other good tournaments, and then you know, along came the British Open, and uh uh as soon as I saw Royal Troon, I I knew I loved it. Uh and you know, at the beginning of the week you're not thinking about winning. You know, obviously you gotta kind of get into the tournament and see how you stand and you know, see what kind of shape you're in. But uh yeah, even uh even going around the uh the the 7, 8, 9, 10 on Sunday, Wayne Grady was at least five shots ahead of me. So I wasn't even thinking about winning then. I was just trying to have a good turn, you know, good finish.

unknown 1:53

Yeah.

Mark Calcavecchia 1:53

Uh and then it all changed when I when I flew that chip in the hole in number 12. Uh after that I didn't miss a shot, and the next thing I know, I'm in a playoff.

Mike Gonzalez 2:03

So it was uh cut we're gonna come back to that one because we want to go through that one in gory detail because there's a lot of good stuff there with the playoff and everything. But let me just take you back to that stretch of wins you you kind of breezed by uh uh in particular the Australian Open, because Bruce, you had a little experience with that one down there, didn't you?

Bruce Devlin 2:22

Yeah, I did. Uh a little bit before Mark, though. My my just a little bit before him. Might have been back when it might have been back when he was born in 1960.

SPEAKER_04 2:33

It was.

Bruce Devlin 2:36

Yeah, a lot earlier than one when Mark went down there. But you know, it it's great that uh that we were able in the early days to bring the American players down to play in Australia because uh there was never much money down there, Mark. You know that. Uh it was it was uh it was great that the American players would come down and and play in Australia, and I I think it's helped the game tremendously. Uh golf in Australia has improved a lot, and I think the American players had a lot to do with it.

Mark Calcavecchia 3:08

Well, thanks. Yeah, and I I love playing uh down in Australia and playing in the open. I know uh Jack always played a lot down there, and uh oh yeah, a lot of a lot of uh a lot of American players enjoy coming down there to play. Uh you know, the golf courses are phenomenal uh in in Sydney, and I've only played in Sydney and Melbourne, the sandbelt and Melbourne, and uh uh once in Adelaide, and I've never been to Perth, but you know, oh I played up at the Gold Coast too, as well, with uh Ian Baker Finch. So I I just always have a great time there, and uh uh my wife wants me to take her there. And I said, Well, it's not exactly close. No, but I maybe we can get down there for a vacation here in the next uh few years uh and and spend a a week or a week or two down there.

Bruce Devlin 3:56

It's only about 18 hours from where you live. Yeah, you know, that's all you can fly into Dallas and then take a non-stop 16 and a half hours into Sydney. Oh, there you go. But you know, talking about the golf courses in Australia, and I I know everybody will think that I'm, you know, because I'm about what I'm about to say is I'm I'm partial to it, but I think the Sandbelt courses in Melbourne might be the best accumulation of great golf courses in the world.

Mark Calcavecchia 4:26

I I a hundred percent agree. Uh there's there's at least ten great courses uh along there within a what 10 or 15 mile radius. Uh Kingston Heath being my favorite, of course, Royal Melbourne's awesome. Uh uh Metropolitan, there's so many good ones. Uh but yeah, the uh the bunkering is just uh you know, it's just so cool. Uh what's what's Bruce, what's the name of that course where the the bunkers come right up to the edge of the green? I mean they literally either on the green or in the bunker.

Bruce Devlin 4:58

Well they are they are at Royal, uh Royal's bunkers in that way where the putting surface is right on the edge of the bunkers. But uh, you know, there's a lot maybe uh I'm trying to think which one you might be thinking about.

Mark Calcavecchia 5:13

Uh there are there are a few of them like that, but I think that's that's one of the coolest looks uh I've ever seen. I just love that.

Mike Gonzalez 5:21

Well, Mark, we've talked to Jack Nicholas, we've talked to Gary Player about the experiences, you know, coming down, playing exhibitions with Bruce and playing in Australia. Uh Bruce is modest, uh, but in 1960 he won the Australian Open as an amateur.

Mark Calcavecchia 5:38

Awesome. I did not know that. Yeah. How old were you? Oh now.

Bruce Devlin 5:45

Well, I was uh 23.

Mark Calcavecchia 5:47

23, yeah.

Bruce Devlin 5:48

There you go. Yeah, I didn't I didn't stop playing golf until I was 15 years old because uh I was a field hockey player, really. Then my dad lost an arm in an automobile accident, and he was a he was about a 20-handicap and left-handed, played left-handed. But uh I always tell the story about you know, he was looking for somebody to uh to go back out back out on the golf course with him when he rehabbed, and he was looking for uh somebody to do it, and he told me that I was the guy he was looking for to do it. So I had to go play golf with him. That's how I got started. Nice.

Mike Gonzalez 6:28

So a couple of the other victories you uh you went through the the the win in Boston in '88, uh, that was by one over Don Pooley. Uh and a little overlap with Bruce again because he won there in 72 by three over Lee Elder. Um and then uh you mentioned the good start in '89. Phoenix was uh was uh by seven. This was the first Phoenix open that you won by seven over Chip Beck and uh and LA at Riviera, which is a great track by one over Sandy Lyle, a couple good wins almost back to back. I mean, you had a week in between, I guess, huh?

Mark Calcavecchia 7:03

Right. Yeah, I I it was uh of course I love Riviera and and you know the TPC uh Scottsdale, I I wouldn't say I love the course, but uh I love the tournament and the atmosphere. And the the course was it was perfect for me uh in in terms of you know there's no trees, it's a desert course, but it's severe around the greens. And uh, you know, if you short side yourself in some of those deep bunkers, you're you're you're you're in trouble. But uh, you know, I had the the L Wedge and I was good out of the bunkers, and uh uh you know I I understood the greens there in Phoenix. Like they're they're look kind of subtle. A lot of people have have problems making putts out there, but uh I never did for some reason. I I always knew what every putt was gonna do, and that yeah, that's a that that sure is a nice feeling when that happens.

Bruce Devlin 7:51

I want to uh say to the folks who who haven't looked at Mark's uh scoring history, in his three Phoenix Open wins, he won by 20 shots cumulative. He won by seven, five, and eight, and in two thousand and one check this out sixty-five, sixty, sixty-four, sixty-seven for a total of two fifty-six. Now, do you think he liked the uh TPC at Scottsdale? I do, I think he loved it.

Mark Calcavecchia 8:28

Right, right. And the weather was bad that week, too. Oh, was it, really? Oh yeah, it was cold and and rainy and uh uh I mean really cold. It was it was awful. Uh we had to play 27 holes on Sunday, and uh when we restarted it was you know 40 degrees or whatever, but not all the ice had melted. And when I I hit it in a left rough on 9, my last hole on Saturday when they blew the siren. So I marked my ball, you know, with a T. When I came back out Sunday morning, there was a sheet of ice uh over my T. So I called an official, I said, What do I do? Do I just put it on top of the ice or or do I break you know break the ice? What do I do? He you know, he didn't know. He says, I just put it on top of the ice and give it a give it a whack. So sure enough, I put it on top of a sheet of ice and and hit a seven iron six inches from the hole. I'm like, all right, let's go. Yeah, boy, oh boy, what a story. Yeah. And uh yeah, and and uh Rocco Mediate finished second, uh, eight shots behind me, and then Steve Lowry finished third, another eight shots behind him. So my and that's it was uh it was it was almost Tiger-esque, you know, uh where I had third covered by uh sixteen shots.

Mike Gonzalez 9:45

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well it was it was uh you know it was a record uh score for your 72 hole scoring record at the time. Uh that that uh second round 60, 11 under was also a record. Those were both later matched by Phil Mickelson, but uh uh so that was your that was your third win at Phoenix in 2001. There's uh only three other guys have won three times there, and they were pretty good. Mr. Palmer, Gene Littler, and Phil Mickelson.

Mark Calcavecchia 10:14

Right?

Mike Gonzalez 10:14

That's a pretty good list to be part of, isn't it?

Mark Calcavecchia 10:16

Good company to be part of, yeah. Yeah. I I gotta admit, uh, I wasn't exactly rooting for Phil when he was going for his fourth Phoenix opening one year. Or when he 360 lipped out that putt for 59. You know, I wanted to kind of keep the course record uh yet with him for a little bit. But uh yeah, that was you remember that putt? Yeah, bones went down to the ground. Uh yeah, that was that was brutal. But yeah, no, I'm a I'm a big huge Phil Mickelson fan, but yeah, I didn't I don't want him to win there anymore.

Mike Gonzalez 10:47

So we we kind of fast forwarded from uh from 1989, early victories, and and of course we'll get back to the open win to 2001. But in between, there were a few wins. Uh you you after the open win in 1989, uh you won again, I guess that would have been an early 92. So what was happening in your life in your game in that stretch? Uh uh probably playing well, but just didn't have a PGA victory during that stretch.

Mark Calcavecchia 11:17

Right. Uh a couple things happened, and it wasn't the clubs, but I was receiving quite a bit of grief for uh the only reason I was any good was because of the square grooves on my copper brillium i2 irons. So in 90, uh I decided I was gonna sign a deal with Tommy Armor, uh 845s, which are almost identical to Ping I2s, but they had V grooves. Well anyway, I uh I I did finish uh second six times in ninety. Uh so you know I was still playing great. Uh a couple of them I gave away, a couple of them, and I finished good you know good rounds to finish second, but I was still, you know, still playing great. Uh, but you know, it's it's always been hard to win. No matter, you know, it's it's harder to win nowadays than ever. Uh but I've I've always said I I I don't think winning's that easy to do. No, it's not. Unless, you know, you just you're out you're clearly on a different planet that week. Uh but uh and then 91. I I played some good golf too, and then finally, finally got another win in 92 at Phoenix. So uh yeah, it it was it was a little bit of a drought for sure.

Mike Gonzalez 12:26

Yeah, you picked up a win in 95 uh in the Bell South Classic at Atlanta Country Club by two over Jim Gallagher. Um that came uh I guess about three years later.

SPEAKER_03 12:37

Yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 12:38

Um and then won uh the Greater Vancouver Open in 87 uh by one over Andrew McGee.

Mark Calcavecchia 12:44

97, yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 12:45

Yeah, what I yeah, sorry. Yeah and and then your second Honda 98, huh?

Mark Calcavecchia 12:51

Yep. Quick story on the Greater Vancouver uh tournament. Um on Friday on number nine, which was my 36th hole, I was I was eight or nine or ten under. I was playing great, but I hit it just an I wasn't driving it great, and I just hit an awful drive, and of course I only had one driver, and I hit some sort of big flare slice out into a pond. And in front of the T there was an air canada sign. And uh I you know I just bombed up and chucked my driver at the sign and broke it, and I pulled it towards the left edge of the sign. Of course, there's a metal stake holding up the sign. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 13:28

Sure.

Mark Calcavecchia 13:28

So my driver, my shaft hit the hit the hit the metal stake just right in the middle of it, and all you could see was a uh a shaft and a club head, and I uh I autographed it, I signed it, and of course, but now I got no driver for the weekend. So I borrow Tim Heron's Mizuno driver, like a triple X shaft. The straightest I could hit it was about a 30-yard slice. That's the best I could do with it. It was a 30-yard slice. Luckily, I had room to start my 30-yard slice out, uh, and still and I was using Jeff Maggart's putter that I'd been using for a while. And uh anyway, we're on the 18th grain, and I've got about a two and a half straight uphill putt for the win. And I look over and I see my caddy unscrewing the flag. I'm like, oh no. Bad karma. This is gonna be the worst thing in the world if I miss this. I can't believe he's doing that to me. And uh we still laugh about that today, that I somehow made the putt right in the middle, and I was like, don't do that again, whatever you do. Wait till the pot goes in before you start unscrewing the flag.

Mike Gonzalez 14:33

That can be bad.

Mark Calcavecchia 14:34

So that was a couple of funny things happen that week.

Mike Gonzalez 14:39

Well, let's see. We can go ahead uh of that 2001, that third win at Phoenix and uh and talk about the Bell Canadian Open at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club by one over Ben Crane and Ryan Moore.

Mark Calcavecchia 14:52

Yeah. Yeah, what a great course Shaughnessy is. Uh and they played two or three other Canadian opens uh after after I won there in 05. And the winning score is usually somewhere between eight and four under. I mean, that just tells you what kind of course that was. I think I was five under. You would. And I made one birdie on the weekend. Uh but my short, I was getting up and down from everywhere when I missed a green, and the rough was gnarly and scraggly, and uh yeah, uh winning with five under. I I shot, I think I shot sixty-five, sixty-seven, seventy-two, seventy-one, something like that, with one birdie on the weekend. And that was from six inches, by the way. So I just could not get a putt to go in, but I was I was making all my par putts. But anyway, uh that's probably uh my second and third favorite wins uh after, of course, the open championship, or uh the Australian Open in 88 and the Canadian Open in uh in 05, uh just because they're national championships. You know, they're they're they're big, important, world famous tournaments, and uh uh I I I yeah, I love that win.

Mike Gonzalez 16:02

Yeah, Bruce, I can recall growing up uh when I was a younger kid, and and you know, you talk about the Canadian Open as like a fifth major.

Bruce Devlin 16:10

It was actually uh I uh I I mean everybody thought it was a fifth major. It was always a great tournament to win.

Mark Calcavecchia 16:22

Yeah, and amazingly, Jack Nicholas never won that one.

Bruce Devlin 16:25

Yeah. Is that incredible? And he played in it every year. Yeah, that's amazing too. Built built that golf course as well that the open was played on. Glen Abbey, yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 16:37

Yeah, speaking of Glen Abbey, you did something special there four years later, didn't you, Mark?

Mark Calcavecchia 16:42

I did. I had my uh 14-year-old son uh on the bag, and uh we started on 10 and par 10 and 11. 12's a hard par three. Uh hit a good shot, ten feet, birdie, laid up the next hole, hit a wedge close, birdie, made a twenty-footer in the next hole, hit a close in the next hole, two putted the next hole, par five for birdie, made a twenty-footer on seventeen, and then uh well after my fourth birdie in a row, my son my son goes, Dad, that's four in a row. I said, Yeah, I know. He goes, he goes, You're on fire. I said, Yeah, this is fun. And then uh and then after that he didn't say anything. And then after I made uh after I hit a five wood into eighteen about ten feet, and I thought, well, shoot, if I make this, I'm gonna ruin my birdie streak because uh the old number four now is number one. It's a driver nine-iron hole, pretty easy hole. And then there's a par five after that, and I'm already thinking ahead. Anyway, of course I tried to make the eagle putt and just hung on the lip and didn't go in. Uh and then to make eight in a row, which was the record uh previously held by about six guys, and one of the guys that held that record, I was playing with that day, JP Hayes.

SPEAKER_03 17:55

Yeah.

Mark Calcavecchia 17:56

Ah, and uh I hit it about five feet uh for my eighth birdie, and it was a downhill left to writer, hard putt, and I just I just poured it right in the middle. So we get up on the last hole uh or my ninth after eight straight birdies. It's a dog leg right par five. Uh the old number five at Glen Abbey, it's number two now. And my son says, Dad. I said, What, bud? He goes, Don't duck hook, don't duck hook it over there by that fence like you did yesterday. JP, everybody's laughing. Good idea, Daddy. You know, it's something a 14-year-old would say to you. And uh, but it actually relaxed me because I ever I you know I got a laugh out of it. Hit two perfect shots, a driver and a five wood on the green and two putted from 40 feet and uh for my ninth birdie in a row. And JP Hayes, we're walking to the 16th. He goes, Thanks for breaking the only uh PGA tour record I had. And then uh then I actually lipped out a chip on the next hole for 10 in a row. Oh my uh but yeah, so I'm still still playing great, and I'm like gonna try to make as many more birdies as I can. And uh the next hole is a super hard par three, and I just I hit it straight at the flag, and it I was a little pumped up, I guess, and it it flew in the back bunker and buried on the downslope in the back of the bunker, made a double. So so much for that, you know. Yeah, so much for that streak. And my my nine in a row was forgotten quickly.

Mike Gonzalez 19:28

Yeah, what a what a stretch though. What a stretch. Well, let's cover the the uh the uh the other win, which was 2007, the Pods Championship. Um, and you won that by one over John Sendon and Heath Slocum.

Mark Calcavecchia 19:43

Yep. Uh the thing about that tournament was uh I wasn't putting very well going into that week. Uh I went to Edwin Watts and I bought a putter. Uh it was a Ping Redwood, and I had this other kind of prototype putter that I thought I really liked uh that I used the first day. Well, of course I hit 16 greens and shot four over. Had about 38 putts. And uh so that was the end of that putter. Uh I told my wife, uh, we played in the afternoon that day. Uh we had dinner that night. I said, okay. Uh because I had Eric Larson cattying for me. I said, uh you know, we're staying right there on the first green in one of those condos. And I said, make sure you got the car all packed up, get the dogs ready. Uh as soon as I get done, you know. We're hitting the road. We're out of here. And uh so I put this redwood putter that I bought in play, and I figured something out on the putting green. Uh my right hand was getting, even with the claw, my right hand was getting too involved with it. So I thought, just barely put your right hand on the dang thing and just pull with your left hand. Uh well, 54 holes later, I made everything I looked at and uh ended up winning by one. So it was uh pretty amazing.

Mike Gonzalez 20:58

Yeah. Well, that's a pretty good uh pretty good stretch just talking about a bunch of wins, including all those PGA Tour victories that you had. Uh why don't we move on to the majors if we can? We'll take them in the order that they fall. So we can start quickly with the Masters, and there's some highlights to review there for uh for Mark Alcovecki. 18 starts. He had two top fives and 10 top 25s. Uh best finishes. Well, let's start with 1988.

Mark Calcavecchia 21:24

Yeah, it was uh pretty tough week of weather. It was pretty windy. Uh the greens were hard and as fast as I think they've ever been. And uh I made some nice uh nice puts on the back nine and uh uh hit the wrong club into 18, which I've said before if I had one shot I could take back, it'd be that one. Uh this was before the you know the course was lengthened and and all that, so I just hit a beautiful drive around the corner and uh figured I'd just hit a hard wedge uh in there, and I hit it as hard as I could hit it, and it hit the the false front and rolled back. Down the hill, and I I wish I would have hit a nine iron and and I completely forgot about the slope behind the behind the in the middle of the green there. Anyway, uh so I'm still ahead by one at this point. And then uh so I'm on the way to the butler cabin and Sandy Lyle just birdied 16. And uh so now we're even and he parred 17 and I'm in the butler cabin and uh he hits that one iron right up into the lip of the bunker. And uh you know I thought, well, he's nobody in the world hits it higher than him at that point. They didn't for sure. And when I saw his lie, it was it was just sitting perfect, and it was on the upslope, so I knew he he had no problem getting over the lip, but still, you know, he tied to the lead on the masters, it's not exactly where you want to be.

SPEAKER_03 22:46

Right.

Mark Calcavecchia 22:46

And of course, he just hit hit the best shot of his life, and his eyeballs were like that when he was looking at it, flying through the air, and I said, Oh man, he hit a great shot. And it got up the hill, rolled back down, and uh I knew he was gonna make the 10 or 12 footer. I just told everybody in the butler cabin he's gonna make this and poured it right in the middle. But you know, at the time, so I'm doing my interviews, and you know, I was kind of disappointed. I was getting all jacked up for a uh, you know, I told myself, just get ready for a playoff. He's not gonna make a bogey, he'll find a way to make par. But then when he made Birdie, I was kind of in a state of shock. And I told all the guys in the press, look, you know, it was a blast. I I love this tournament, love the golf course, blah, blah, blah. Uh, I'll play in this thing another 20 times in my life. Uh, I'll get a win. Uh I'll win here. You know, and that's just kind of what the way I thought.

SPEAKER_03 23:36

Yeah.

Mark Calcavecchia 23:37

Because I was playing well, and oh, you know, whatever. And uh had a few other chances. Uh, I can't remember the years, but I think I had a couple of fours. One of the years Tiger won.

Bruce Devlin 23:47

2001.

Mark Calcavecchia 23:49

2001. I I know I birdie Juan to tie for the lead, and then just really didn't do anything the rest of the day. Just made a whole bunch of pars, and and uh, you know, I don't think I buried the par fives in the back nine and uh you know end up falling back. But uh you know that that tournament is uh it's something special.

Mike Gonzalez 24:09

Well, you had to witness uh to beat you one of the more iconic final round shots in majors history with that seven iron out of the bunker by Lyle. But the year before we talked to a fellow that hit a pretty good shot the uh to to win in the playoff on 11.

Mark Calcavecchia 24:26

Yeah, that was when Greg Norman was kind of having problems holding with people hauling out on him on the last hole or a playoff or whatever. But uh that that chip Larry hit, uh, I mean, it was just incredible. Uh the the bumper's a little further back now than it was then. Uh, but you know, that that's so fast, and the green's kind of going down towards the water, and uh, you know, obviously the nerves and the pressure, and uh every time I walked by there, or I did after that, uh, you know, I looked at that chip he made and I'm like, huh, you know, I would have chonked it or chunked it or scalded or done something. Pretty amazing.

Mike Gonzalez 25:02

Well, that 87 Masters was your first one, and so we we were talking about your second masters in 1988. You you think about uh, you know, you guys, it's a series of learnings. You guys build on on what you learn and and apply that in future tournaments. But I suppose instead of that being your second masters, had that been your 10th or 12th, uh perhaps you would have played that last shot a little differently, huh?

Mark Calcavecchia 25:25

Yeah, I I a hundred percent. Uh I I think uh, you know, and I was aware of of uh uh of not getting it up on the green and giving myself a chance for Bertie. I mean I hit a great chip to about six inches, which was a big relief, but still it would have been nice to have that that putt in the middle of the green right across the hole there that uh that a lot of people have had in the past. And uh yeah, but if it wasn't my second masters, I probably would have been more aware of it and uh and make made sure I got it uh and used the slope a little bit and at least got it up there.

Mike Gonzalez 25:55

Yeah, you had a pretty good back nine in 1992, the year Fred Couples uh won on Sunday.

Mark Calcavecchia 26:02

I did. I I birdied 10 and uh just kind of out of nowhere. I really didn't do much on the front. I think I shot even par in the front, which isn't a bad score. Uh my motto at Augusta was always just get me to 8T even par. You know, because I think one through seven, you I mean you can find yourself four or five over in a heartbeat on those holes. Uh but anyway, uh I think I made about a 20-footer on 10 for Birdie, and then I hit it uh 10 feet on 11 and missed it, and six feet on twelve and missed it. Wow. And then it then I birdied the last six. Wow. And uh for a twenty-nine, and they were all basically tap ins. So it was just one of those uh one of those one of those stretches.

Mike Gonzalez 26:45

We you're talking about getting 8T, uh, Bruce. That hole was pretty easy for you, wasn't it? The eight?

Bruce Devlin 26:50

Yeah, well, I it was in 67. I made a two there. You made a two there?

Mark Calcavecchia 26:58

Yeah, I've never I've never made a double eagle. I I I've holed out a three-wood twice on my second ball, you know, a mulligan, yeah, into a par five where you hit a crappy one, give me another one, and then boom, you make it. But you certainly can't count that. But I've never had a uh never had a double eagle.

Bruce Devlin 27:14

And it's interesting too at Augusta. There's been four double eagles, and they've all been on the different hole. Sarazen on 15, 15, right? Myself at eight, Maggot at 13, and um the South African Louis. Louis is tasing at two.

SPEAKER_00 27:36

Yeah.

Mark Calcavecchia 27:37

Wow, that's amazing. Isn't that amazing? That's a cool, that's a cool club to be part of. Um I remember that. That's awesome. The crowd had to go crazy when it went in, huh?

Bruce Devlin 27:46

Yeah, yeah. Um from my standpoint, it was great because I had my dad with me that year. He'd come over and he was standing up on top of the hill at eight, you know, because I couldn't see it go in. You know what it's like playing from down underneath that uh big hill. But but and it was the first time that uh I think it was the first time they'd sort of reworked that green a little bit, and it he said it just went in like a putt. So that was nice. That's cool.

Mike Gonzalez 28:13

Yeah, so he was the answer to a trivia question for a long time. I was. You know, who was the only other guy other than Saracen to have a double eagle at the Masters?

Bruce Devlin 28:21

Yeah. What club did you have? Oh, Four Wood. Forwood? Yeah, obviously that was before they lengthened it, uh the way it is today. But uh, I don't think I I think I'd need a driver, a four wood, and a four wood today to get there.

Mike Gonzalez 28:39

Yeah, I think uh Bruce, correct me if I'm wrong, the progression has been as the years have gone on and technology has advanced for those double eagles, it was like four-wood, four-wood, three-iron, four-iron or something like that, wasn't it?

Bruce Devlin 28:50

Yeah, yeah. It's uh yeah, I think Ust has an uh made a two at two with uh with an iron in his hand, I believe.

Mark Calcavecchia 28:58

It was an iron, I think it was a four-iron major.

Bruce Devlin 29:00

Yeah, yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 29:01

Yeah, yeah, I think so. Well, let's talk about the U.S. Open uh uh, which uh I guess as as you look at your record across the majors, uh uh uh you probably had it's fair to say you had more success at the other three.

Mark Calcavecchia 29:16

It's very very fair to say that. Uh I think my two best U.S. opens were the first two I played, uh, or close to it. I I think I finished maybe 20th or 21st at uh Southern Hills uh one year. I'm sure Tiger won that year. Or no, maybe you uh Goosen won that year. I don't know. But anyway, you know, it it uh the tournament just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Uh that was especially when I played in U.S. Opens, it was all about the deep rough. You know, now, you know, the way Shinnecock was a few years ago with all the runoff areas and stuff, but all the U.S. Opens I played in, I I just remember, you know, you have the 28-yard-wide fairway, and then, you know, your first cut, and then six inches of hay. So when I hit a drive, which is a good drive for me to miss the fairway by two inches, and you got to grab your sandwich to hack it out. Uh I was just mentally frustrated with that, uh, even probably before I got to the U.S. Open. Uh so I probably had a little bit of negativity going before he even got there most of the time, and or didn't really like the course. I mean, I'm not a fan of Oakland Hills or Oak Hill or Medina or some of these places that they played the U.S. Open. So uh Shinnecock, I always say I love Shinnecock, except when the U.S. Open is there. Uh so I I just wasn't really a U.S. Open guy uh for that reason.

Mike Gonzalez 30:42

Yeah, and and Bruce, you know, as we've talked to now uh probably 30 of Mark's uh fellow colleagues on the on the tour that played back in the day, uh we've heard that from a number of folks uh that talked about a particular major probably just they didn't feel well suited and and and went into it with a you know maybe not the optimal attitude, I guess, huh?

Bruce Devlin 31:03

Well, yeah, and it uh well it certainly was a a big departure from what you were used to week in and week out. Uh and you'd go to the open and uh yeah, I think a lot of players, to be quite honest, Mark, they they they felt like the USGA sort of tricked the golf course up a little bit.

Mark Calcavecchia 31:23

Yeah, I I totally agree, Bruce. Uh there there have been times where uh you know, whether it be the rough or if they decide to let the greens get super, super hard or whatever, uh like at Shinnecock in uh the year uh let me think. Uh anyway, the putting green was purple uh Sunday morning. Uh I shot five over, and the average score was almost ten nine and a half over, uh, and picked up twenty-one spots shooting five over. Uh it was it was just dumb.

Mike Gonzalez 31:59

I I think uh if that was eighty-six, that was probably Raymond Floyd the year he won.

Mark Calcavecchia 32:03

It wasn't eighty-six, it but I think it was the next one.

Mike Gonzalez 32:05

Uh uh well Corey won in 95.

Mark Calcavecchia 32:08

All right, it was the next one then. Who won that one?

Mike Gonzalez 32:12

Ratif Goosen.

Mark Calcavecchia 32:13

Ratif Goosan, okay. Yeah. The year Ratif won.

Mike Gonzalez 32:16

Yeah.

Mark Calcavecchia 32:17

Uh so anyway, that's just an example of sometimes the USJ, and they they they go, yeah, we admit we let the course get away from us. Uh Billy Mayfair put a uh a three-footer on seven into the bunker. Uh, you know, and he didn't hit it that hard either. So I mean there's just there's some instances uh uh at times where the USJ can uh get a little carried away. Uh having said that, I haven't played in the U.S. Open in a long time, but watching on TV, it seems like they're doing a better job of uh I agree. Uh better job of of trying to keep the course playable so the guys don't get all grumpy.

Mike Gonzalez 32:53

Yeah, yeah. Let's move on to more pleasant memories. Talk about the Open Championship where Mark Galcovecchia has had 30 starts, including 19 cuts made, uh the one top five being the victory in 1989, but he's had some other success there, three top tens, nine top twenty-fives. So let's just go right to 1989. Uh Mark Galcovecchia wins the Open Championship at Royal Trun in a four-way, or rather a four-hole playoff with Wayne Grady and Greg Norman. And there's a whole lot to talk about there, but the first thing I'd ask you about is uh you almost didn't go over there to play, did you?

Mark Calcavecchia 33:30

No, I didn't. Uh my daughter was due uh August 8th, which was the uh Sunday of the uh of the open. So, you know, the last thing I wanted to do was miss the birth of my daughter, but uh my ex-wife uh you know said, you're playing great. I think you should go. I got good vibes for you. Maybe she was just trying to get rid of me. I don't know. So off we went. And uh uh yeah, just the way the whole week unfolded. Uh I got there on Sunday. So the first practice round on Monday, uh Marco Mira and I played Curtis Strange and Arnold Palmer in a little match. Uh so my first ever round at Royal Trune, uh I'm playing with Arnold Palmer, and uh I made a 30-foot or an 18. I like that hole, by the way. Uh that hole's been good to me. Uh 50 quid off of Arnie and uh be able to sign it. And he was like, damn, you cowp, and he was, you know, had a few curse curse uh choice words in there for me, but uh he was he was he was not happy I made that putt. But anyway, I just uh I love the course. Uh the the week of weather was was perfect. Yeah, good weather. Uh it was dry, they were in a drought, uh, you know, so the ball was bouncing and it was rolling, and uh anyway, yeah. Uh just everything about that week was uh turned out fantastic.

Mike Gonzalez 34:56

So we certainly want to uh take our listeners through Sunday, uh the round, uh the playoff, and so forth, but you were three back after the third round, right?

Mark Calcavecchia 35:07

I think so, yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 35:08

Yeah. And uh uh who were you playing with on Sunday?

Mark Calcavecchia 35:12

I was playing with David Faraday of all people. So is that good?

Mike Gonzalez 35:17

Did it keep you loose?

Mark Calcavecchia 35:18

I mean, it was good. It was funny. Uh you know, he was he was funnier when I wasn't wasn't playing so good, but then when I started uh when I holed out that chip on 12, well actually I made a 50-footer for par on eleven. Uh back then it was a par five. Uh and then he didn't say too much after that. But uh yeah, I started three back and and Greg Norman had teed off an hour and a half in front of me, and he had already birdied the first six holes. Yeah so it was like wow.

SPEAKER_03 35:45

Yeah.

Mark Calcavecchia 35:46

Uh you know, I I think I was maybe one under after or two under after seven or six. And then I played a really sloppy seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, and even twelve. Uh I was kind of all over the place and just just trying to hold it together and and uh have a good finish. Uh because Wayne Grady at that time, even though Greg was was playing great, had still had a two or three shot lead. And uh anyway, so I'm in the gorse bush all the way up 11. Right, left, right, left. Uh you know, anyway, I finally got it on on four. And I had this 50-footer, I didn't even clean my ball. Uh and back then, obviously, you could you couldn't leave the pin in, so I hit I put it when my caddy was still 10 feet from the flag, and he sees my balls on the way, so he takes the flag out. Boom, it goes in. Uh, you know, it looked like a straight putt, so I just hit it and went in. Then I hit another crappy drive right on 12, and then even a worse iron shot, a five-iron short left of the green over there behind a dirt hill. And I got up there and my ball is just basically in bare dirt. And the pin was back left, and there's a swale and an upslope. So I thought, well, I better not try to bounce this into the hill in case it doesn't make it, then I then I'm likely to make double. So I just said try to fly it on the green, keep it on the back of the green somewhere and see if you can make a 30 30 footer for par. And I hit it, and obviously it just went just flew right in. And I put my hat my visor down. I was like embarrassed, and I didn't even look at Fardy. Uh, but anyway, after that, I I didn't miss a shot really the rest of the day. Uh just it changed my spirits just a hundred percent. And uh managed to uh uh Greg was done, so I knew I'd needed the Birdie two of the last four to have a chance. Yeah because he's in a 13 under, Wayne's still 15 under on 11 or 12. So I had driver driver on 16, two putt, hit the green, two putt for birdie. 17's a really hard hole, uh three iron, middle of the green, two putt, and then eighteen, I hit a really good drive. Uh probably about ninety percent. Not not my all-time career best, but a really good one. And I was three paces short of that bunker that Norman ended up hitting it in.

SPEAKER_03 38:03

Yeah.

Mark Calcavecchia 38:03

I was like, wow. Uh but you know, I had a perfect lie, a perfect yardage for a good hard eight iron. And I got up over it and I got felt this wave of nausea, of nervousness come over me. And I hardly ever back off shots, but I'd back off, take a deep breath, and say, okay, just do what you've been doing, and and you know, hit it three feet.

SPEAKER_03 38:22

Yeah.

Mark Calcavecchia 38:23

And made it to Ty Greg. Uh, and then wait, Wayne was still 15 under, playing the 14 to part three, which he bugged uh part 15, and then he didn't bertie 16, and then 17, he bugged that hole for the fourth day in a row.

SPEAKER_03 38:37

Right.

Mark Calcavecchia 38:38

So he really doesn't like that hole, and then didn't birdie 18. So now we're going into a playoff. So I asked the RA guy, I said, I assume we're going back to 18. He knows, no, we're going to one.

Mike Gonzalez 38:48

What a one.

Mark Calcavecchia 38:49

You know, one's the easiest hole in the golf course. It's a driver and a 60-yard L-wedge. And uh I said, Well, that's a weird hole to have a sudden death playoff on. He goes, No, we're playing one, two, seventeen, eighteen. I had no idea. What? I had no idea it was a four-hole playoff. Because at the beginning of the week, you're not really paying attention to what the playoff holes are. You know, I mean, that's the last thing you're thinking about at the beginning of the week. I don't even know if they had it posted on the wall.

Mike Gonzalez 39:13

But did did you really care? I mean, what was your mindset when you learned it was a four-hole playoff?

Mark Calcavecchia 39:18

No, I was I was glad. Uh, you know, I mean, because sudden death, anything can happen. At least you got four holes if yeah, the other guy makes a birdie right off the hop or something where it would have normally been over, you're still alive.

Mike Gonzalez 39:29

So of course you're going up against a guy that made eleven birdies that day.

Mark Calcavecchia 39:34

Right. Yeah, and so he birdies one again.

SPEAKER_03 39:37

Yeah.

Mark Calcavecchia 39:38

And uh then he birdies two again. But I made a 30-footer in front of him on two, but then he made another ten or twelve-footer. Uh so he's two under, I'm one under, and Wayne's even. And we go to 17, and he blisters a three-arm, but goes just over the green, but it's fine. Uh I hit it in the middle of the green, good shot, and Wayne hits it in the bunker again, makes his fifth straight buggy in that hole. And then what blew my mind was Greg had one little tall, skinny piece of grass in front of him. I mean, he was just a a yard over the green, but there's like no grass. And he he grabs his eight iron or something, and I whacked my my buddy, my caddy on the shoulder. I said, Can you believe he's chipping this? And he's like, No, what's he doing? And and sure enough, he chipped it eight, nine, ten feet by. I almost made the putt, and then he missed. So uh we're tied at one under and Wayne's one over. Uh I because I knew that bunker was reachable, and back then I never hit a three wood off the tee. I either hit a driver or a one-iron. Uh so I just hit a just a big old flame out drive, terrible. Uh went nowhere. Uh Greg gets up there and just blisters one. And I'm on the left side of the T and it's going right down the middle, and it starts to hit have a slight little fade to it. I knew that bunker was reachable. And and they're like, beauty, Greg, you know, uh, him and uh Bruce Edwards, who was cating for him at the time. And uh I'm kind of standing over there on the side of the T and I'm looking at it, and I said, if this kicks just a little bit right, it's gonna catch that bunker, and sure enough, it kicked right. And I saw it roll in the corner of the bunker, go up the lip and roll back down. I mean, it only hit it by a foot, but he thought he was perfect, uh, and I knew he was in that bunker. And uh anyway, we get up to our our drivers. I got 201 to the hole, perfect lie in the rough, and just hit a beautiful five-iron. It never left the flag. Uh still don't know how he did it to this day, but anyway. It looked like it was two or three feet from back on the fairway. So I think that's what really made Greg try to hit the m you know uh hero shot, just you know, hit a shot that couldn't be hit.

unknown 41:45

Yeah.

Mark Calcavecchia 41:46

Turns out he hit it as good as he hit it, but he he could hit it, but he went right in that cross bunker about 50 yards short of the green. And then he hit that one in the clubhouse, and uh then he just he said, That's it, I'm done.

SPEAKER_03 41:56

Yeah, yeah.

Mark Calcavecchia 41:57

And uh Wayne made his putt for Birdie, and I knew I could still three putt and win, but uh uh uh yeah, I kind of short stroked it, but went right in the middle.

Mike Gonzalez 42:05

So yeah, so uh uh they go you go to the prize giving and announce Mark Kalkavecchia, champion golfer of the year. How does that feel?

Mark Calcavecchia 42:18

Yeah, I think I was still in a state of shock. I really don't even remember what I said to this day. Uh you know, at that point when you're you're holding the the claret jug and you know the stands are still packed, uh, you know, the whole green surrounded with photographers and stuff, and it's just like uh you just whatever comes out of your mouth comes out. Uh what I do remember was uh uh you know doing the press conferences and stuff and having a glass of champagne with all the volunteers, and next thing you know, we're uh we're in the courtesy car going back to the hotel. We're staying at the British Caledonian in air. And at the hotel on the fourth floor, there's a bar slash restaurant. So pretty much every night we went up there to eat and or have a beer or something, and you know, got to know everybody, the bartenders, the all the waiters, waitresses, and whatnot. And they're like, you know, I told them at the start of the week, if if I win, I'm gonna bring the cleric jug up here and we're gonna have a party. And they're like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure, sure, okay. Yeah.

Bruce Devlin 43:18

Uh yeah.

Mark Calcavecchia 43:20

I didn't even go to the room. I marched straight up the stairs to the fourth floor, and the place was packed. And uh they were all expecting me, and I kept my word, and uh uh I don't really remember much of what happened after that, other than there was a a lot to a lot of partying going on, and everybody was taking a picture with me in the jug, and they were holding it. They just all had the best time. So I think that that's a memory they'll all remember.

Mike Gonzalez 43:43

Pretty cool. Well, you you you you had thirteen strokes in the playoff, and so I always jokingly say that Mark Alcavecki's the only guy that shot eighty one on Sunday and won the open championship.

SPEAKER_00 43:54

Yeah, that's right. That's pretty good. I like that. It started.

Mike Gonzalez 43:59

Thank you for listening. To another episode of For the Good of the Game. And please, wherever you listen to your podcast on Apple and Spotify, if you like what you hear, please subscribe, spread the word, and tell your friends until we tee it up again with the good of the game. So long, everybody.

Outro Music 44:20

Whack down the fairway. It went smack down the fairway. Then it started to slice, just smidge off line. It headed for two, but it bounced off nine. My caddy says long as you're still in the state, you're okay. Yes, it went straight down the middle, quite away.