Hot putter seals PODS title for Calcavecchia

BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2007 PODS Championship | Wrap | 12 Mar 2007

Despite bogeys at two of the last three holes in today’s final round of the PODS Championship near Tampa in Florida, Mark Calcavecchia has held on to win his first event since the 2005 Bell Canadian Open and only his third event in the last nine years on the PGA Tour.

Calcavecchia’s victory was set up by a simply stunning third round of 62, the best round of the week by three shots. He shared the lead at that point with his playing partner today, Heath Slocum, but birdies at his 2nd and 6th holes had him at 11 under par through six holes and he led by two. Slocum had double bogeyed the 2nd hole after driving it in the hazard and his chance appeared gone as by the 6th hole he had slipped four shots behind Calcavecchia.

Calcavecchia bogeyed the 8th but made the turn at ten under for the tournament and held the lead by two but when he bogeyed the 10th after failing to get up and down from just off the green at the 10th he was at 9 under and led by just one over John Senden and Lucas Glover who had just birdied the 12th to move to eight under.

Senden added another birdie at the 16th to move to 9 under and at that point shared the lead with Calcavecchia and Glover but it was at about that time that Calcavecchia found another gear. He birdied the par five 11th after a fine pitch to three feet, parred the 12th, holed a 28 footer at the 13th to move to 11 under and then holed a brilliant sharp breaking 22 feet right to lefter at the par five 13th to move to 12 under and for a brief moment a three shot lead. Slocum was making a comeback of his own and when, just a few minutes later, he birded the 14th from 8 feet he had moved into outright second.

Calcavecchia had a chance to put the tournament beyond doubt when he hit a brilliant five iron to four feet at the 15th but missed the putt and the difference was still just two with three demanding holes to play.

Calcavecchia missed the fairway at the 16th and was forced to lay up. He took bogey and after Slocum had made a very good up and down from the trap the difference was just one. Both players parred the 17th and at the last both hit good drives although Calcavecchia caught his second a little heavy and came up three yards short of the green in a tricky lie. He chipped to 6 feet and now Slocum not only had a 25 foot putt from the right side of the green to tie but potentially to win. He finished four feet short but when Calcavecchia missed Slocum still had a chance of a playoff if he could hole the four foot putt. He was unable to do so and the title was Calcavecchia’s.

After a horror first day on the greens on Thursday, Calcavecchia produced a brilliant display with a new putter he had purchased last week after missing the cut at the Honda Classic and eventually finished third in the putting stats for the week. He actually led the putts per green in regulation stat. The putter replaced a new prototype Ping had sent him and which he had used in Thursday’s opening round and which he soon discarded. The replacement was a Ping Redwood model and the turnaround was simply amazing.

It was a great week also for Calcavecchia’s caddy Eric Larson, who rejoined Calcavecchia last year after serving ten years in prison for drug trafficking.

Senden and Slocum tied for second after Senden had finished the best part of one hour earlier than the final pair. Slocum’s missed four foot putt at the last added (US106,000) to Senden’s payday, the Queenslander earning US$466,000 for his week’s work. He has made each of his seven cuts this season but this is the first time he has been in winning contention. There will be a lot more to come for him however.

Brian Gay and Lucas Glover shared fourth place while defending champion K.J. Choi and Charles Howell finished in a share of 6th. Howell’s great recent form continued when he produced a final round of 65 to move from 34th to 6th on the final day.

The best of the Australians, after Senden, was Stephen Leaney in 8th position his best tournament finish since September of last year and one of only three top tens in nearly three years on the USPGA Tour.

Nathan Green’s last round of 67 moved him into 12th place and a cheque for US$116,000. It was his best finish of the season to date.

Peter Lonard also had a good final round of 68 to finish 29th, Gavin Coles 65th and Mark Hensby 74th.

The PGA Tour heads back to the East Coast of Florida for the Arnold Palmer Championship at Bay Hill near Orlando.