Mark Calcavecchia won the Champions Tour's Principal Charity Classic wearing bacon-themed pants. ( Associated Press ) 

Calcavecchia wins on Champions Tour

By Golfweek Staff

Parts of Mark Calcavecchia’s Principal Charity Classic victory on Sunday were hardly traditional. There were the bacon-themed pants and the putter purchased from a nearby sporting-goods store. Given those details, the victory was one of Calcavecchia’s most satisfying yet.
Calcavecchia’s third Champions Tour victory was a close one. He finished 54 holes at Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa at 12 under, one shot ahead of Joe Durant and Brian Henninger.
Calcavecchia, who missed the cut in the Senior PGA Championship two weeks ago, never trailed during the final round at the Wakonda Club. The 13-time PGA Tour winner closed with a final-round 3-under 69.
“It’s kind of out of nowhere. I’m kind of in a little state of shock right now,” said Calcavecchia, the 1989 British Open champion.
Durant shot a 69, missing a long birdie putt on the 18th hole. Henninger had a 68.
Rod Spittle was fourth at 10 under after a 68.
Davis Love III had a 68 to top the group at 9 under. He was making his fourth Champions Tour start since turning 50 in April 2014.
Still, the weekend belonged to Calcavecchia, who picked up his first win since a gruesome injury to his right hand in November that left him wondering if his career was finished.
“It still bothers me. I wake up and these fingers hurt,” Calcavecchia said. “But I get out there and start playing. ... I kind of get over the pain and forget about it.”
Calcavecchia missed the cut at the Senior PGA in French Lick, Indiana last month. He broke two clubs during a second-round 77 at that event. He broke the first over his knee after a bad second shot. After missing the green with his third, he snapped the shaft on that club by slamming it into the ground.
Calcavecchia stopped by a local golf shop earlier in the week, grabbed a putter he liked and drilled a dozen in a row on the store’s putting green. The new putter was a hit on the course as well, helping Calcavecchia pick up his first Champions Tour win since 2012.senior
As for the pants, those came from the organizers of an annual bacon-themed festival in Des Moines. He wore them Friday, went back to traditional pants Saturday, but knew he needed them for the final 18 holes.
“All of a sudden I grabbed the lead and I’m like, ‘I’ve got to wear them. I’ll give them one more shot,’” Calcavecchia said.

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