Masters Golf Tournament : Calcavecchia Doesn’t Hesitate to Say He’s Among Players to Beat

When Mark Calcavecchia was asked Wednesday who had the best chance to win the Masters golf tournament, beginning today at Augusta National, he didn’t hesitate.

“Myself, Seve (Ballesteros), (Ben) Crenshaw, (Craig) Stadler and (Greg) Norman,” he said.

Then, he paused and added: “I forgot about Tom (Kite) and Curtis (Strange). You better slide me back.”

Calcavecchia also said it wouldn’t be surprising if a relatively unknown player wins the tournament.

Nor did he rule out the prospect of a first-time player at the Masters upsetting the field.

Calcavecchia said that the players today are not intimidated as they might have been in the past, when Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson dominated the PGA Tour.

Nicklaus laughed when apprised of Calcavecchia’s assessment.

“No one is intimidated by me anymore. Half the players can’t even pronounce my name.”

Then, on the intimidation factor, he added seriously, “Nobody is winning on a regular basis now. It might be different if Seve and Norman began to win regularly.”

Nicklaus, 49, who has won the Masters a record six times, doesn’t regard himself as a top contender even though he has played decently in recent weeks.

As for Calcavecchia, he is one of game’s the rising young stars. He finished second here last year, rather shockingly, when Sandy Lyle made a spectacular shot out of a fairway bunker on the 18th hole that found the green.

He birdied the hole and beat Calcavecchia by a shot. Calcavecchia, who had already finished, watched Lyle’s shot on television.

“My wife cried and so did my buddies, but I don’t think about it until someone brings it up,” he said. “I shouldn’t be disappointed at all. I did my best to make it a golf tournament and I was beaten by a great shot.”

The players here say the course has never been in better shape, even though it rained Tuesday and and late Wednesday afternoon.

Rain is not expected today, but there is a chance of showers for Friday.

Calcavecchia has won twice on the tour this year, but he isn’t coming in on a roll, having missed the cut in three of his last five starts since he won the Nissan Los Angeles Open in February.

He hasn’t played, though, in two weeks, choosing instead to rest for the Masters, one of the four major tournaments, along with the U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship.

Calcavecchia, 28, regards himself as one of the favorites because his style as a long hitter and expertise near the greens is suited to the course.

Others agree.

Nicklaus said Calcavecchia, Norman, Ballesteros, Lyle, Crenshaw, Strange and Kite are the favorites.

Nicklaus played with Calcavecchia at the Doral Ryder Open last February at Miami. When the round was over, and Calcavecchia had shot a 65, Nicklaus said: “He hit he ball so well and so far that I felt totally inadequate. Now I know what other people once said about me.”

Calcavecchia was appreciative of Nicklaus’ tribute, but he said he isn’t letting it go to his head.

“I just hit some great shots that I couldn’t even believe,” he said. “Nicklaus was looking at me like, ‘What is this kid doing?’ ”

Calcavecchia has five victories since joining the tour in 1981 but has yet to win his first major.

He is aware of the importance of the Masters, but he said he would get more personal satisfaction out of winning the Ryder Cup this year.

“That’s a team deal,” he said. “That will be a highlight of my life, the night after we beat the Europeans.”

Although Calcavecchia says there’s a new wave of hungry young golfers, he still regards Nicklaus as a factor here.

“He can still win,” Calcavecchia said. “And if he played 25 times a year, he would be winning.”

Nicklaus says he is playing better now and has had some decent rounds, because his sore back hasn’t bothered him in recent months as it had in previous years.

He added, however, that he had a back spasm last Friday, not as the result of an exercise program that was prescribed for him by Pete Egoscue, an anatomical therapist in San Diego.

“I did a stupid thing,” he said. “I went to a chiropractor.

“I’m a little disappointed. I’m not 100% going into (Thursday). However, last fall I didn’t think I’d be playing period.”

He added, however, that he wouldn’t approach the first tee today if he didn’t think he had some chance of winning.

“I’ve always said I’ll play golf as long as I enjoy it and can successfully compete, even though I haven’t won this year, or have been close to winning,” he said.

For those who believe that persistence finally pays off, then Kite, the tour’s leading money winner this year and an established veteran, should be given some consideration this week.

He is often described as the best player never to have won the Masters.

However, he has had 10 finishes in the top 10 here--he was runner-up twice--and has missed only two cuts.

“I am anticipating a good week,” said Kite, who has won twice this season. “I’ve never come here playing as well as I am right now. Whether that translates into winning, I can’t say.

Masters Notes

Much discussion concerning the course concerns the par-five, 465-yard 13th hole. The water level of Rae’s creek, guarding that hole, has been allowed to rise. In the past, some dramatic shots have been played from the creek when only a trickle of water passed over the rocks. “What they did to the creek is terrible,” Mark Calcavecchia said. “If you hit in there, you have no chance of playing it out.” Other pros don’t seem concerned with the water level, or the lessening of the severity of the swale, the low lying portion of land on the left front of the 13th green.

Hord W. Hardin, the Masters chairman, is fretting about the escalating prize money on the PGA Tour, hoping that the Masters won’t have to go commercial to survive. “I don’t seriously consider it, but I’m not saying a successor or change in membership might consider it rather than give up the tournament,” he said. “I see it as a problem.” The purse for last year’s tournament was $1 million. The purse for this year won’t be announced until later in the week, but it is expected to be in that range. The PGA Tour, on which corporate sponsorships have become the vogue, has 16 events paying $1 million or more this season, topped by the $2.5-million purse for the Nabisco Championships at Hilton Head, S.C., in October.