Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Calcavecchia, Langer set for final-round duel
BOCA RATON — The PGA Tour Champions couldn’t have scripted a more attention-grabbing scenario for the final round of the Boca Raton Championship with two of the most prominent names set to duel today.
Affable Mark Calcavecchia, who grew in West Palm Beach and lives in Jupiter, followed his sizzling opening-round 64 with a 66 on Saturday to lead a birdie-happy field at 14-under par on the Old Course at Broken Sound.
Bernhard Langer, the German superstar who resides in Boca Raton and has been the dominant player on the senior circuit in recent years, is on his heels at 12-under.
Calcavecchia will have to hold off Langer, Player of the Year the past four years on Tour Champions, to win for the first time in nearly three years. He will try to carry the momentum of finishing with three consecutive birdies Saturday, including making 30-foot putts on No. 16 and 17, which followed back-to-back bogeys on the previous two holes.
“You know, it was amazing, and I hardly ever do this, at least anymore. I actually talked myself into that. I said, ‘I’m going to make this,’” Calcavecchia said. “I mean, it was just — I was so bummed out I bogeyed 14, because I really hit a beautiful shot. And then to bogey 15, I’m like, ‘No, I’m playing too good, I can’t screw this up.’”
Instead, it was Langer who uncharacteristically missed a 4-footer for birdie on 18 that cost him a valuable stroke. It was a disappointing conclusion for the machine-like Langer to settle for par on a hole that saw six players register eagles on Saturday.
Langer, playing with his daughter, Jackie, caddying for him for the first time in a pro tournament, finished with six birdies in a bogeyfree round.
“Yeah, that one hurts because it was a beautiful drive,” said Langer, who recovered from overshooting the green to set up the short putt for birdie. “So double whammy, just not good to finish with a par when you have a perfect tee shot on that hole.”
Calcavecchia and Langer had few regrets through two rounds. Consequently, the focus Sunday will be on two of the most recognizable names of the past generation of golf.
The third name in the final threesome is not nearly as well known, but don’t overlook Bart Bryant, who turned in the day’s best round by two strokes with a 64 11C to surge to 10-under par.
Jerry Smith, another unheralded player with one Tour Champions win under his belt (2015 Encompass Championship), is also at 10-under after a pair of 67s.
Bryant, a Texan who lives in Winter Garden, and has a resume of three wins on the main PGA Tour and one on the Tour Champions, would seem the long shot of Sunday’s final group.
But Bryant’s is a very human story that is easy to get behind for the perseverance to overcome numerous injuries and the heartache of losing his wife Cathy to brain cancer last April.
Despite his best round of golf in 16 months, Bryant found it difficult to assess where he stands with his game. For the better part of the past two years, golf has been at best a useful distraction since his wife’s diagnosis.
“Last year was not a good year. Golf-wise, it was not good. Honestly, it’s the first good round I’ve played in quite a long time. It felt good to do that for a change,” Bryant said.
“I feel more settled. I’ve been able to get a little more practice in, in the offseason. I’m still not exactly sure where my game is, to be honest with you, but I’m starting to see some good stuff.”
It is a testament to how well Bryant has played over the last 27 holes that he got into Sunday’s final group. It is difficult to contend in a 54-hole tournament when you play the first nine in 39, as Bryant did Friday. But since then he has made 14 birdies and just one bogey.
The 64 was his best round of golf since he shot the same score in the final round of the Toshiba Classic to finish second at Newport Beach, Calif.
“It was solid,” Bryant said of his round. “I really only hit one bad shot today, the second shot on 17. Other than that I put the ball where I wanted it to be,” Bryant said, adding that it will take a similar round Sunday to have a chance to win. “But at least I’m in a position where if I were to shoot a low round I’d have a chance. And that’s good. I haven’t been there in a while.”
Bryant, 55, didn’t get on the main tour until he was 28, and it took until he was 41 before he won. He finished in the top 50 on the money list twice. His biggest moment was when the won the 2005 Tour Championship by six strokes over Tiger Woods while breaking Phil Mickelson’s scoring record for the tournament.
It’s a minor miracle Bryant is still playing at all, considering a series of injuries and surgeries, including one to fuse the bones in his left wrist, cost him three years on the main tour.
There was also a notable moment Saturday when he was able to evoke a rare good memory from the past few years. That was when he stood at the tee on No. 18 and recalled when he holed his second shot from 195 yards on the par 5 final hole here in 2015 that boosted him into a four-way tie for the lead after the second round. He went on to finish tied for ninth.
“We had a little conversation going on there on 18 tee while we were waiting to hit our tee shots. Pretty funny. But it’s a good memory, and every time I stand on that When: Prize money: million. Admission: Tournament play is $20 daily, free for ages 70 and older and under 17. All free admissions courtesy of the city of Boca Raton. TV coverage: Golf Channel 3-5 p.m. today. Also streaming on Golf Live Extra, 2-4 p.m. Information: Call 561-241-4653 or visit bocaratonchampionship .com. fairway, I had a 6-iron today, which I think I made it with a 5 or something, I was looking at it going, you know, I think this could be made. Of course, you know, the odds of that ever happening again are slim and none, but at least the thought was there, so that’s good.”
Michael Allen had an eagle on 18 to finish a round of 68 and move into a tie for fifth at 9-under with Paul Broadhurst and Steve Flesch.
Ken Tanigawa, Tommy Armour III, Scott Parel, Olin Browne and Tommy Tolles also eagled the final hole.