Watch Mark Calcavecchia Friday at the 2009 British Open
TURNBERRY, Scotland -- Mark Calcavecchia, 49, won the British Open 20 years ago. After a first-round 67, and an early-morning, four-hour round, he's in position to win another. Except for one thing: he doesn't think he can. Well, I'm not so sure. Yes, his putting is iffy, and he's not as strong out of the rough as he used to be, but he hits it unbelievably well. Fade shot after fade shot after fade shot, the man's in play. Maybe he can't win, but he can contend, funky putting and all.
In his postround remarks, he spoke of his beer-and-Advil formula for keeping his bad back in check. It aches all the time, and goes into spasms now and again. He spoke of a dream he had Wednesday night in which he was playing golf again with his old buddy Kenny Green, the Champions tour player who recently had his leg amputated. He talked about hitting hybrids for the first time in his life. He talked about preparing for the senior circuit.
He talked about everything except his chances to contend. I think he can. But to do so, he's going to have to back up his 67 with another strong showing in round two, something under 70.
