Calcavecchia makes name

Having changed his own name from Eugenio Saraceni, Gene Sarazen once remarked that Mark Calcavecchia should do likewise, if he had ambitions of becoming a familiar figure in golf. One suspects that recognition will no longer be a problem for the Nebraskan, after his exploits in the Phoenix Open last weekend.

With a 28-under-par aggregate of 256, Calcavecchia broke a USPGA Tour scoring record which had stood to Mike Souchak since the Texas Open of 1955. And it should be noted that Souchak's aggregate of 257, outstanding though it was with the equipment of the day, was achieved on the relatively short and open Brackenridge Park course, using rubber tee-mats.

Indeed when Souchak shot a record inward half of 27 on the way to an opening round of 60, he was negotiating a back nine of only 3,085 yards. With an overall yardage of 7,089 for a tight par of 71, the TPC at Scottsdale was a rather different proposition.

In the event, Souchak's rounds on that occasion were 60, 68, 64 and 65 and we are told the pitching wedge was never far from his hands when playing second shots to par fours. For his part, Calcavecchia also carded a 60 in rounds of 65, 60, 64 and 67.

A measure of Souchak's ninehole performance was that it stood as a record for serious tournament play on either side of the Atlantic until 1978 when it was equalled by Spain's JoseMaria Canizares during the third round of the Swiss Open at Crans-sur-Sierre.

Calcavecchia is also something of a nine-hole specialist, having set the inward record for no less a venue than Augusta National during the 1992 US Masters, won by Fred Couples. Another American, David Toms, equalled Calcavecchia's Augusta record on the final day of the Masters in 1998.

Calcavecchia hit the golfing headlines at Royal Troon in 1989 when he captured the British Open after the first four-hole aggregate play-off for the event, against Greg Norman and Wayne Grady. And he made an impressive challenge for the Irish Open at Portmarnock 11 months later.

That was when, as the reigning British Open champion, he led the field with a sparkling first round of 66. But after a dispiriting second round of 75, he was eventually forced to settle for a share of second place with Frank Nobilo, three strokes behind the winner, Jose-Maria Olazabal.

On the way to an eight-stroke victory over runner-up Rocco Mediate last weekend, Calcavecchia also equalled the US Tour record of 28-underpar, set by John Huston when winning the 1998 Hawaiian Open against a par of 288. Ben Hogan had set the target with a 27-under-par aggregate in the Portland Invitational of 1945 and this figure was equalled by Souchak 10 years later.

It is also interesting to note that Calcavecchia was 27-underpar for the first four rounds of the six-round Bob Hope Classic in 1997. Meanwhile, his opening 36 holes of 125 (65, 60) at Scottsdale equalled the tour record set by Tiger Woods (64, 61) on the way to victory in the NEC Invitational at the par-70 Firestone stretch last August.

Calcavecchia and Mediate possess split-handed putting grips which some describe as the ugliest on tour. All of which lends further credence to the golfing adage that it's not how but how many.