Published: Sunday, August 28, 2011
Calcavecchia defeats Cochran in playoff to win Boeing Classic
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AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Dean Rutz
Mark Calcavecchia woon his first Champion's Tour event.
SNOQUALMIE — An emotional player by his own admission, Mark Calcavecchia was looking for ways to relax before Sunday's final round of the Boeing Classic. He listened to music, took a mid-morning nap, and then enjoyed a leisurely lunch before his early afternoon tee time.
But it was making one big shot after another in his down-to-the-wire showdown with Russ Cochran that really did the trick.
The 51-year-old Calcavecchia posted a 7-under-par round of 65 that included eight birdies and one bogey, and then bested Cochran with a ninth birdie in a one-hole playoff to pocket the $300,000 first-place paycheck at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.
It was the first career Champions Tour victory for Calcavecchia, who had 13 career PGA Tour wins between 1986 and 2007.
“I don't know if I was due, but I guess I kind of was,” said Calcavecchia, who had gone winless in 30 previous Champions Tour starts. “Everybody kept telling me, ‘You'll win one sooner or later.' And I'm glad it happened.”
Calcavecchia and Cochran were two of four players who began the day with a share of the lead. The others, Jeff Sluman and Kenny Perry, fell back as the afternoon wore on, but Calcavecchia and Cochran were neck and neck most of the way, with Cochran rolling in a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole to force a playoff.
Both players finished regulation with 14-under totals of 202.
The extra hole was a repeat of 18, but this time Cochran found trouble in a sand trap and carded a bogey 6.
Calcavecchia, meanwhile, reached the green with his second shot, lagged a 40-foot putt to 6 inches and had an easy tap-in for the victory, which he celebrated with upraised arms and, it seemed, a big sigh of relief.
“I've let a lot of tournaments get away my whole career,” said Calcavecchia, a two-time runner-up on the Champions Tour including this year's Senior British Open. “I kind of have that fault. I don't always play so great on the back nine when I need to. ... But I think this will help me down the road.”
Calcavecchia began the day briskly, rolling in birdie putts of 7 feet on No. 1, 40 feet on No. 3, 18 feet on No. 6 and 15 feet on No. 7. He suffered his only bogey on No. 8 after skulling a sand shot, but followed by holing another sand shot for a birdie on No. 9.
Six pars later, Calcavecchia closed his round with a 45-foot chip-in on No. 16, a 25-foot putt from off the green on No. 17 and a tap-in birdie on No. 18.
Cochran, meanwhile, was just as sharp, putting together a round of one bogey, six birdies and an eagle.
“I did a lot of good things out there,” Cochran said. “To be honest with you, I have no complaints. ... I've played worse and won, I can tell you that.”
Calcavecchia, though, “had that look in his eye,” Cochran said. “He knows he could've won several times by now (on the Champions Tour), but it hadn't worked out for him. ... Today it looked like no matter what was going to happen, he was going to just keep coming, keep making birdies, keep doing good things.”
Sunday's win boosted Calcavecchia's tour earnings to nearly $1.3 million in 2011. And that is good money for a player who will play occasional PGA Tour events in the coming years, but calls himself “a Champions Tour player now.”
“This is my future,” he said. “This is what I've been thinking about for quite a while. I'm not in The Masters, I'm not in the U.S. Open and I'm not in the World Golf events. And that's all fine. ... I enjoy it out here.”
Third place went to Chip Beck, who closed with a 4-under 68 for a total of 9-under 207. He was one stroke better than Sluman, who shot 1-under 71 on Sunday.
Seattle native Fred Couples needed a blistering round to climb into contention and it never happened. Couples started well, scoring an eagle on the par-5 first hole, but he gave those strokes back on the second hole with a double-bogey. He finished his round with three bogeys and two birdies for a 1-over 73, leaving him tied for 16th at 1-under 215.
“It was a fun week,” Couples said. “I didn't play very well ... but the weather was perfect and the course was awesome.”
Defending champion Bernhard Langer tied for 11th at 2-under 214 after a 73.
Notes
Calcavecchia and Cochran shared low-round honors on Sunday with Jim Rutledge, who lives in Victoria, B.C. ... Two players, Don Pooley and Craig Stadler, withdrew on Sunday because of sore backs, while Jerry Pate failed to show up for his tee time. ... Sunday's estimated attendance was 30,000, matching the best single-day crowd in tournament history and pushing the weekly total to an estimated 80,000, also a tourney record.
But it was making one big shot after another in his down-to-the-wire showdown with Russ Cochran that really did the trick.
The 51-year-old Calcavecchia posted a 7-under-par round of 65 that included eight birdies and one bogey, and then bested Cochran with a ninth birdie in a one-hole playoff to pocket the $300,000 first-place paycheck at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.
It was the first career Champions Tour victory for Calcavecchia, who had 13 career PGA Tour wins between 1986 and 2007.
“I don't know if I was due, but I guess I kind of was,” said Calcavecchia, who had gone winless in 30 previous Champions Tour starts. “Everybody kept telling me, ‘You'll win one sooner or later.' And I'm glad it happened.”
Calcavecchia and Cochran were two of four players who began the day with a share of the lead. The others, Jeff Sluman and Kenny Perry, fell back as the afternoon wore on, but Calcavecchia and Cochran were neck and neck most of the way, with Cochran rolling in a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole to force a playoff.
Both players finished regulation with 14-under totals of 202.
The extra hole was a repeat of 18, but this time Cochran found trouble in a sand trap and carded a bogey 6.
Calcavecchia, meanwhile, reached the green with his second shot, lagged a 40-foot putt to 6 inches and had an easy tap-in for the victory, which he celebrated with upraised arms and, it seemed, a big sigh of relief.
“I've let a lot of tournaments get away my whole career,” said Calcavecchia, a two-time runner-up on the Champions Tour including this year's Senior British Open. “I kind of have that fault. I don't always play so great on the back nine when I need to. ... But I think this will help me down the road.”
Calcavecchia began the day briskly, rolling in birdie putts of 7 feet on No. 1, 40 feet on No. 3, 18 feet on No. 6 and 15 feet on No. 7. He suffered his only bogey on No. 8 after skulling a sand shot, but followed by holing another sand shot for a birdie on No. 9.
Six pars later, Calcavecchia closed his round with a 45-foot chip-in on No. 16, a 25-foot putt from off the green on No. 17 and a tap-in birdie on No. 18.
Cochran, meanwhile, was just as sharp, putting together a round of one bogey, six birdies and an eagle.
“I did a lot of good things out there,” Cochran said. “To be honest with you, I have no complaints. ... I've played worse and won, I can tell you that.”
Calcavecchia, though, “had that look in his eye,” Cochran said. “He knows he could've won several times by now (on the Champions Tour), but it hadn't worked out for him. ... Today it looked like no matter what was going to happen, he was going to just keep coming, keep making birdies, keep doing good things.”
Sunday's win boosted Calcavecchia's tour earnings to nearly $1.3 million in 2011. And that is good money for a player who will play occasional PGA Tour events in the coming years, but calls himself “a Champions Tour player now.”
“This is my future,” he said. “This is what I've been thinking about for quite a while. I'm not in The Masters, I'm not in the U.S. Open and I'm not in the World Golf events. And that's all fine. ... I enjoy it out here.”
Third place went to Chip Beck, who closed with a 4-under 68 for a total of 9-under 207. He was one stroke better than Sluman, who shot 1-under 71 on Sunday.
Seattle native Fred Couples needed a blistering round to climb into contention and it never happened. Couples started well, scoring an eagle on the par-5 first hole, but he gave those strokes back on the second hole with a double-bogey. He finished his round with three bogeys and two birdies for a 1-over 73, leaving him tied for 16th at 1-under 215.
“It was a fun week,” Couples said. “I didn't play very well ... but the weather was perfect and the course was awesome.”
Defending champion Bernhard Langer tied for 11th at 2-under 214 after a 73.
Notes
Calcavecchia and Cochran shared low-round honors on Sunday with Jim Rutledge, who lives in Victoria, B.C. ... Two players, Don Pooley and Craig Stadler, withdrew on Sunday because of sore backs, while Jerry Pate failed to show up for his tee time. ... Sunday's estimated attendance was 30,000, matching the best single-day crowd in tournament history and pushing the weekly total to an estimated 80,000, also a tourney record.
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