Calcavecchia survives quad; returns to Augusta
MIAMI -- Mark Calcavecchia is in. Mark Wilson isn't.
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Calcavecchia survived a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 18th hole Sunday at the CA Championship, but still earned $63,000 to secure a spot in the top 10 on the PGA Tour money list -- and with it, a spot in the Masters.
The CA Championship was the final event where players could earn a spot in the field for the event, which begins on April 5.
Phil Mickelson is the defending champion.
Calcavecchia made it interesting at the 18th hole on Sunday afternoon. He hooked his second shot into the water, putted another ball into the drink later on, and wound up taking a quadruple-bogey 8 on the par-4 hole to finish a round of 5-over 77 at Doral.
Somehow, he could laugh about it afterward.
"You know what? This is the best I've ever felt after an 8 in my life," Calcavecchia said. "I just checked the purse breakdown. It was only like a $12,000 dump for a quad. ... I'm ready to celebrate."
Calcavecchia, the PODS Championship winner two weeks ago, earned $63,000 this week, pushing his season winnings to $1,417,408 -- good for ninth on the money list, earning him a 17th career trip to Augusta National. He made it with $174,811 to spare.
"It's everybody's goal," Calcavecchia said. "So I'm happy."
Calcavecchia is in the lone player to get into the Masters by virtue of being in the top 10 on the money list. Aaron Baddeley, Charles Howell III and John Rollins received invitations for being in the top 10 and the top 50 in the world golf rankings. Paul Goydos and Justin Rose also earned spots by being in the top 50 in the world.
A total of 107 players qualified for the Masters. Tournament officials expect 97 to tee it up for the first round. Among those who have qualified and won't be playing are Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Nick Faldo, the three-time champ who is a part of the CBS broadcasting team for the tournament.
Also qualified by virtue of being a past champion but not playing: Tommy Aaron, Gay Brewer, Jack Burke, Billy Casper, Charles Coody, Doug Ford and Bob Goalby.
Wilson saw his Masters hopes dashed for another year.
Wilson won the Honda Classic earlier this season, creating a chance that he could qualify for his first trip to Augusta. But he shot a 1-under 71 on Sunday, finished the tournament at 1 over, and missed the top-10 money earner's club by $127,756.
"I came out wanting to play well today and I did," Wilson said. "And this isn't the last Masters that's ever going to be played. I'm off to a good start for next year."
He made a run at getting there Sunday. When Wilson was through 16 holes, Geoff Ogilvy was through seven, and based on where they would finish at that point the projected gap between them for 10th on the money list had narrowed to $9,839.
But Wilson -- who has already surpassed his best single-season earnings total on tour -- got no closer.
Calcavecchia was planning to spend Masters week at home in Arizona with the kids, being "Superdad," he said. Now the family will be driving to Augusta, even bringing their dogs along for the journey.
"Last time I was there I shot about 80-79 or something," Calcavecchia said. "I'll be happy when I get there. I always say it's my favorite place to get to and my favorite place to leave. That's about the best I can say for that joint, especially now."
The Masters field will include 18 first-time participants and five amateurs -- Richie Ramsay (U.S. Amateur champ), John Kelly (U.S. Amateur runner-up), Julien Guerrier (British Amateur champ), David Womack (U.S. Mid-Amateur champ) and Casey Watabu (U.S. Amateur Public Links champ).
The other first-timers are Bradley Dredge of Wales, Johan Edfors of Sweden, Kenneth Ferrie of England, J.J. Henry, Robert Karlsson of Sweden, Troy Matteson, Brett Quigley, Jeev Milkha Singh of India, Hideto Tanihara of Japan, Camilo Villegas of Colombia, Brett Wetterich, Dean Wilson, and Y. E. Yang of Korea.
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report
