Mark John “Calc” Calcavecchia (1960- ) was born in Laurel, Nebraska, where he started playing golf. His family moved to West Palm Beach, where Calcavecchia graduated from North Shore High School and worked on his golf game, playing up to 72 holes per day during the summer. Calcavecchia won both the Florida State Junior and Orange Bowl amateur championships in 1976, and was chosen for the inaugural American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) All-American team in 1978 and first-team all-time Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1980. Calcavecchia was named Palm Beach County Amateur Athlete of the Year before turning professional in 1981, earning $404 his first year.
Starting with the 1986 Southwest Golf Classic, Calcavecchia had thirteen victories on the PGA Tour by 2007. He won five international tournaments, and shared three other trophies. Calcavecchia played on four Ryder Cup teams spanning fifteen years, as well as on the President’s Cup team.
In 1989 Calcavecchia started at 162nd on the money list and rose to 1st with over $2 million in winnings. When Calcavecchia won the 2007 PODS Championship at the age of 47, he advanced from the bottom to the top in three days. The win gave him career-best earnings of almost $3 million and made him eligible for other major tournaments, including his seventeenth Masters.”I’m a lucky person,” he said, “to be doing what I’m doing and make the money I make.”