His putting woes well publicized, 46-year-old Mark Calcavecchia needed a 7-foot par putt on the final hole to seal his first PGA Tour victory in two years. He missed — but so did playing partner Heath Slocum, who would have forced a playoff had he converted a 4-footer.
It was just a week ago that Boo Weekly (Slocum’s high-school teammate) missed a short putt on the final hole of The Honda Classic that would have given him his first Tour win. Weekly lost in a four-way playoff.
This week it will be Slocum who needs consoling if the former teammates and Tour buddies go fishing.
It was amazing that Calc (70) and Slocum (71) were even vying for the title. Last week Slocum carded a fat 81 and 77 to miss the cut at The Honda Classic. And Calcavecchia couldn’t putt a pea into the ocean.
Then a week ago Calcavecchia picked up a new putter for himself and a new skirt for his wife. He regained enough of his stroke and confidence to make some putts this weekend, and tonight he is a Tour winner once more.
The Armchair Golfer