Calcavecchia making career out of proving doubters wrong

Did remind us that while muscles may ache and desire may ebb, talent is forever.

"I am a good athlete," he said without meaning to boast. "Ever see me shoot it from 3-point range? And who's the best bowler on Tour?"

When someone tossed out "Jeff Sluman," Calcavecchia responded, "I'll give him a good run for his money."

Through Day 2 of the Mercedes, he is giving some of the best golfers in the world a run for their money.

Calc's pal Tiger isn't here. Nor is Phil Mickelson. But Weir is a former Masters champion. Zach Johnson, who had a 67 for a two-day total of 143, is the reigning Masters champion. And Angel Cabrera, tried with Calc, won last year's U.S. Open.

Calcavecchia already is thinking about the Champions Tour -- the seniors -- and not only because Friday he was paired with 51-year-old Fred Funk, who is darting from one tour to the other.

"I've seen enough of these kids," Calcavecchia said about the PGA Tour.

Maybe they've seen too much of him. Every time it seems Calcavecchia is done, he wins. As he won last year at the PODS Championship near Tampa and also had his best money year, $3 million.

"I'm not really surprised I'm here," he said of the Mercedes, which is only for those with a victory the previous 12 months.

"I know even if you go a year or two, or three or four -- between 2001 and 2005 I hadn't won -- you kind of wonder, 'Have you won your last tournament?'" he mused. "But then I won the Canadian (in 2005), so I know it's still there. And I know I'm going to win on the Champions Tour unless my health seriously deteriorates."

Calcavecchia is a prime example for those who decry the physiques of golfers. He knows he's not in shape. Well, he knew it after playing in Tiger's little Target Challenge on hilly Sherwood Country Club in Southern California a few weeks ago.

"I was fairly well destroyed by the time I got done with that tournament after six rounds, (including) two pro-ams," he said. "After playing five days in a row and pro-ams at the Shark Shootout (in Florida) and flying cross-country with the dogs, it was grueling. I was beat up.

"Then I started thinking about this course."

Which runs up and down canyons so wide and inclines so steep that on several holes, the pros are hauled around in golf carts.

That's when he decided to start hiking South Mountain in Phoenix near his home. Stopping for a break, he pulled out his PDA and texted Tiger, "Hiking a mountain. May die."

Woods responded in virtually no time. "You must be on the Plantation Course."

He wasn't at the time. But the last couple of days he was, and when the rains and winds swept over him in Thursday's first round, Calcavecchia was of a mind to text Woods on his decision not to play here, "You're a genius. Nice move. How's Florida?"

But he didn't, the weather improved, although it was hardly glorious, and Calcavecchia's attitude also improved.

"Outside of the 40-foot birdie putt on three that I turned into a 45-foot par putt, and missed, I played well," he said. "I should have won more in my career. I can look back and say I slightly underachieved, and I could have practiced harder. But on the other hand, I've had an unbelievable amount of fun in my life."

Hard to find fault with that.