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By Brett Avery
PGATOUR.COM Contributor

He wasn't exactly an unknown quantity when he arrived at the TPC at Eagle Trace in 1987, although Mark Calcavecchia's outfit and outlook had changed dramatically in 12 months.

Calcavecchia was scraping by when he showed up at the first tee of The Honda Classic in 1986, wearing a caddie bib for Ken Green when his regular looper, sister Shelley Green, broke her wrist.

A year later Calcavecchia had a victory and a trio of third-place TOUR finishes to his credit when he showed up at Eagle Trace dressed as a touring professional.

In one year, Mark Calcavecchia went from caddie to winner at the Honda Classic. (Messerschmidt/WireImage)

And this time he shocked everyone by winning The Honda Classic by three shots over Bernhard Langer and Payne Stewart.

"Those three thirds actually depressed me," Calcavecchia said after accepting a $108,000 first prize. "I found out how hard it is to win out here."

Calcavecchia's transformation from also-ran to front-runner is one of those magical stories that crop up every now and then.

He was born in Nebraska but his family moved to Florida in 1974, although the relocation's value was negligible until he realized he could play golf on Christmas. He was a student at North Shore in West Palm Beach, winning the state high school title, Junior Orange Bowl and Florida Junior along the way.

Calcavecchia was in his third season at the University of Florida before he ditched school and turned pro, landing a TOUR card in the 1981 Qualifying Tournament. He couldn't play worth a lick during the season but each year made sure Q-School was his best start, retaining his card.

Until late 1985, that is, when the TOUR card brass ring eluded his grasp. Calcavecchia had nothing to do during Honda Classic week in '86 and decided to help his friend when Green called on the eve of the first round. Calcavecchia had carried for Green half a dozen times in the previous year, including at the 1985 U.S. Open.

It was anything but a successful pairing. Green shot 78-72 at Eagle Trace and missed the cut by two. "He played so bad," Calcavecchia recalled, "a couple of times I felt like jerking the club out of his hands and hitting it myself."

If nothing else those 36 holes on the bag were a sort of turning point for Calcavecchia. The next 12 months became the proverbial snowball, gaining momentum with every roll.

After Green missed the Honda Classic cut, Calcavecchia drove to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to play in a mini-tour event. He won the $19,000 first prize, his biggest payday in five years as a pro. He jumped back in the car and drove overnight to Miami, where he caught 90 minutes of sleep before successfully competing in the Monday qualifier for the Doral Open.

In that Thursday's first round Calcavecchia shot 65, an astonishing score at the Blue Monster. He totaled 7-under-par 281 for the week and tied for eighth, five shots behind Andy Bean. Another $13,500 in the bank.

Calcavecchia made it through both qualifying stages for the U.S. Open, the tournament where he'd caddied for Green in 1985. Calcavecchia placed solo 14th on the strength of a final-day 65 at Shinnecock Hills CC.

You read that right: course record-tying 65 in the final round of a U.S. Open.

The month of September 1986, during consecutive weeks, he tied for seventh in the Bank of Boston Classic, tied for ninth in the Greater Milwaukee Open and won the Southwest Golf Classic. First prize: $72,000. Biggest perk: A free ride on TOUR through 1988.

Calcavecchia entered 1987 not needing to play his way into a field or wait to learn whether he ranked high enough to earn a berth. He shot a combined 35 under in his trio of thirds: opening 65 at the MONY Tournament of Champions, fourth-round 66 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and bookend 68s to start and finish the Phoenix Open.

Although he missed the cut in his next three starts, Calcavecchia returned to his comfort zone when the TOUR shifted to Florida. He tied for 35th at Doral and then blitzed Eagle Trace with 69-72-68-70.

"A lot of my friends were down here ... people I hadn't seen in eight or 10 years," said Calcavecchia, who each day commuted 55 miles from his home in North Palm Beach. "It's something I'd never witnessed before. I didn't know I had that many friends."

The Honda Classic was Langer's tournament to win. For his third straight U.S. start he led at the midpoint and he had two shots on Calcavecchia after 54 holes. But by sundown Sunday, after Langer finished off a poor-putting 75, the German's TOUR winless streak still stretched to the 1985 Masters and Heritage Classic.

Calcavecchia's fortunes kept rising after the Honda. He was 17th or better in each of the first three majors of the year, lost a playoff to Fred Couples in the Byron Nelson Golf Classic and landed a spot on the Ryder Cup team. He finished the year 10th in official money and cracked the money top 10 each of the next three years.

It's been a pretty good career for Calcavecchia, all things considered: a dozen TOUR victories, a handful of other wins around the world (including the Australian and Argentine opens) and 21 straight years in the top 125 in money.

But that Honda Classic has a special spot in his heart.

"One victory might be considered a fluke," Calcavecchia said, "but when you win twice out here, that means you're one of the best players in the world ... for at least one week."