Calcavecchia’s Spirits Soar as the Putts Fall

Trying to convince a golf ball to roll into a small hole is not an easy thing to do a lot of times, which is why Mark Calcavecchia decided it was time to experiment.

When he had trouble putting last year, Calcavecchia tried everything except disappearing into the basement, wearing a white smock, throwing the power switch and hiring anybody named Igor to be his caddie.

It must have worked. After two rounds of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Calcavecchia finds himself at 13-under-par 131 and tied for the lead with Larry Rinker in the $1.5-million event.

Calcavecchia threw a 67 at Indian Ridge on Thursday to catch Rinker, who had a 68 at Indian Wells. Jay Don Blake had a 67 at Bermuda Dunes and is one shot behind the leaders. Paul Goydos could have been right there with them, but he finished with successive bogeys at Indian Ridge and fell two shots back at 133.

Mark O’Meara and Tommy Tolles head a group of five at 134. Add it up and there are 18 players within five shots of the lead after two rounds. Oddly enough, that’s close to the number of experiments Calcavecchia tried to improve his putting.

He tried putting cross-handed. He tried the long putter. He changed grips. He changed putters. He putted with everything except a rake.

Just when he considered using a pool cue, Calcavecchia started using a Scotty Cameron putter in December. After it worked all right in Argentina, he decided to stick with it for a while.

In fact, Calcavecchia is so committed to his new putter, he brought only one with him this week, which is out of the ordinary. Calcavecchia used to switch putters when he changed socks.

There are new greens at Indian Ridge, and Calcavecchia said they played better than they looked.

“They don’t look great, but they sure putt good,” he said. “There is not much grass on them. I don’t know if I could call them nice, fast, smooth dirt or what, but they putt very nice.”

The greens that were the nicest to Calcavecchia were three in a row on the back nine, basically because he birdied them. It started at the 13th, where he hit a wedge to 15 feet and made it.

On the 14th, Calcavecchia hit a seven-iron to 18 feet and made it. And on the 530-yard par-five 15th, he lipped out a 30-foot eagle putt and settled for a tap-in birdie.

“You know, I am just trying to birdie every hole and forget what I’m shooting,” he said. “Kind of the best way to come into this tournament.”

Rinker wasn’t as sharp following up his first-round 63, but it hardly mattered. Instead, Rinker pointed out there still are three days and 54 holes to play.

“We are a long way from the end,” he said.

Rinker was one under par on the front, but changed his momentum when his three-iron put him to within 20 feet on No. 10. He made the putt from there.

Rinker’s curling 15-foot putt on No. 18 was a good way to close it out.

Maybe it will turn out the same way on Sunday. At the very least, some people are due. Rinker hasn’t won a PGA Tour event, Calcavecchia has won once in five years and Blake hasn’t won in six.

Blake said he preferred to remain optimistic about the whole thing.

“I’ve got some good feelings working,” he said.

For the first time in a while, Calcavecchia feels the same way.