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Mark Calacavecchia makes strong run at Honda Classic
By Greg Stoda
Courtesy of the Palm Beach Post
He won the Honda Classic in 1987 at TPC Eagle Trace.
He won the
Honda Classic in 1998 at TPC Heron Bay.
And he's making a run at winning the
2009 Honda Classic on The Champion course at PGA National Resort & Spa.
Not
bad for a 48-year-old vet looking forward to playing against the 50-and-older
set not too long from now.
Calcavecchia shot a five-under-par 65 (it matched
the lowest score of Saturday's third round) for a four-under-par 206 total
to push into a tie for seventh place, three shots off Y.E. Yang's pace.
Calcavecchia
also trails Jeff Klauk and Jeff Overton, who are tied for second place at 204,
and Charlie Wi, Brett Quigley and John Rollins, who are tied for fourth at
205.
Which makes Calcavecchia - the always-popular "Calc" -
the most recognizable name of the lead group even when the five guys tied with
him are included in the list. (Those would be Fredrik Jacobsen, Jason Dufner,
Ben Crane, Robert Allenby and Will MacKenzie.)
"I'm still confident in
my abilities," said Calcavecchia, who lives
across the road from PGA National. "I can win."
He has won 18 times
around the globe, in fact, with the highlight being the 1989 British Open at
Royal Troon.
Calcavecchia already has a tie for fourth and a tie for sixth on his worksheet
for this PGA Tour season, and has a simple explanation.
"I did some work," he said. "I actually practiced
a little bit for a change. In the beginning of the year, it was tough (two
missed cuts in two outings). I made some drastic changes."
Calcavecchia is guessing he needs a victory or a runner-up finish to qualify
for next week's CA Championship at Doral, and wouldn't mind missing a family
vacation.
"My wife can take her son and his buddies to the Bahamas," he
said. "I'd
rather be teeing it up in a World Golf Championship event for eight mil."
And
he knows he's still as capable as anyone, and better than most, when it comes
to going low on the scorecard.
"Confidence with me goes up and down," Calcavecchia said. "You've
seen me play great, and you've seen me in the dumpers. And I'd be the first
to admit when I go through stretches where I'm just miserable, I can't hit
a golf shot on the clubface. And then two weeks later, I'm playing great.
I'm
streaky, and right now I've actually got some confidence in what I'm doing.
I played great. I hit a few loose shots in the middle of the round, but after
that, I settled down. Those last four holes are scary. You kind of spend all
day waiting to get to 15."
Calcavecchia slammed six birdies against one
bogey onto the card before reaching the treacherous finishing stretch, and
then parred the four closing holes.
He thinks he can win.
If he does, check back in 2020.
For tickets and additional
information on the Honda Classic, visit www.hondaclassic.com.
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