Mark Calcavecchia certainly landed himself in hot water with comments he made concerning Arnold Palmer during The Masters back in 1999.
The 1989 Open Championship winner did not have the best record in the majors in the 1990s, registering just one top 10 across the decade in the four biggest events of the year.
Who do you think is the most influential golfer of all-time?
And his frustration seemed to get the better of him as he looked set to miss the cut at the final Masters of the century. Rounds of 75 and 77 meant that Calcavecchia sat out the weekend.
Arnold Palmer would also miss the cut at Augusta National. That, unfortunately, had become a regular occurrence for The King by that time, with the four-time winner not playing all four rounds at The Masters since 1983.
Mark Calcavecchia criticised Augusta National after landing himself in trouble with his Arnold Palmer comments
Calcavecchia was playing in the group behind Palmer on the first day. And after his round, he suggested that the time had come for the great man to bow out from playing in the event.
He went on to apologise for what he had said. But when asked about the comments in a 2002 interview with Golf Digest, Calcavecchia hit out at those who ran The Masters for how they had subsequently approached the issue.
“I played right behind him the first day, and I couldn’t see how he could possibly be having any fun. Some guy asked me if it was a distraction playing behind Arnold. I said no, but I said I didn’t know how he could keep acknowledging the crowd after making bogeys and double bogeys on every hole,” he said.
“Looking back on it now, that was definitely the wrong thing to say. We’re talking about Arnold Palmer here, not Bob Goalby or Doug Ford or somebody where nobody cares. I got lambasted for it, which I should have. I wrote an apology to Arnold, and he accepted it. But now, this year, Augusta National does the same thing, and in a worse way [writing letters requesting that former champions Ford, Gay Brewer and Billy Casper not play]. I mean, have the guts to call them personally.”
How Arnold Palmer reacted to Mark Calcavecchia’s apology after The Masters in 1999
It takes a brave person to hit out at Palmer. There is an argument that golf has never had a greater ambassador. And there would have been plenty of people there to see the seven-time major champion play at The Masters.
As Calcavecchia noted, he ended up writing to Palmer to extend an apology. And in 2000, Palmer issued his verdict on the incident – again, in an interview with Golf Digest.
What is the one golf rule you would change if you had the opportunity?
“Mark wrote a very nice letter, and I acknowledged it. I think he was very sincere in his apology. Sometimes, in the heat of frustration, we all say things we wish we hadn’t said. I took it that he wasn’t mad at me but that he was mad at himself and mad at his game. I can understand that, believe me,” he said.
Palmer would continue to play at The Masters until 2004 having not played in any of the other three majors since The Open Championship in 1995.
Funnily enough, the final cut Palmer made in a major came at the 1989 PGA Championship – just one month after Calcavecchia’s triumph at Royal Troon.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
