Mystery over wife's absence after Calcavecchia hires rookie caddie

Published on Thursday 17 July 2008 22:49

MARK Calcavecchia had a race against time to find a caddie before he teed off in the 137th Open championship, after plans to have his wife carry his bag were abandoned at short notice.

With only 25 minutes remaining before he was scheduled to start, a desperate Calcavecchia hired a caddie who had not even walked the course before.

It was expected that Brenda Calcavecchia would be at the side of the 1989 Open winner, although the caddies' register supplied by the Royal and Ancient, the organisers of the championship, didn't identify a particular caddie for the player. Brenda had worked with her husband of three years during practice and has caddied for him in the past.

According to American sources, the severe weather persuaded Calcavecchia to tell his wife not to come to the course, although radio reports suggested that Mrs Calcavecchia had decided not to accompany her husband.

There was no official confirmation for either suggestion, with Calcavecchia unwilling to discuss his round after shooting a creditable 76 in the worst of the weather.

He told one of the R&A's press officers that he'd had a sleepless night and wanted to leave the course promptly.

Without Brenda, Calcavecchia had enlisted the services of a Fife-based caddie at Royal Birkdale.

The American hired the bagman less than half-an-hour before his 7.25am tee time yesterday with Australia's Richard Green and Denmark's Anders Hansen in the Open.

The owner of a car driving school, Welshman Peter Rees lives in Cupar, Fife, and is married to a Scot. It was an astonishing development for a part-time caddie who was only at Birkdale to assist the caddie-master.

More accustomed to carrying the bags of tourists at the Old Course in St Andrews than working for a past major winner, Rees indicated he was not as familiar with the lay-out as Calcavecchia might have hoped. "I'd never walked the course before," he admitted.

The American Ryder Cup player, however, made light of his caddie's inexperience and posted a score which only included the blemish of two double bogeys, at the second and the 16th, as well as other dropped shots at the sixth, eighth and tenth. The highlight of the player's round was a birdie at the par five 17th.

Rees said he'd enjoyed the experience and praised Calcavecchia for behaving like a gentleman.

Apart from being surprised to hear his services were required, the caddie didn't know why the call to carry the American's bag came so late.

Although he's twice recorded top ten finishes this season, Calcavecchia has struggled since the Masters.

In fact, he has not played 72 holes in any event since the Zurich classic in March.