Top 25 players to watch in 2012: No. 2 M. Calcavecchia

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Mark Calcavecchia's first full season on the Champions Tour was outstanding.

Boeing Classic

Eagle at CSCC XM Interview Wins Boeing Classic

He won the Byron Nelson Trophy for lowest stroke average (69.04), finished second in official earnings with more than $1.8 million, made a stunning bid to overcome Tom Lehman in the Charles Schwab Cup race and, perhaps most impressive of all, was his level of consistency.

Calcavecchia led the Champions Tour with 15 top 10 finishes in 22 starts. He kept contending until the door finally opened for his first victory at the Boeing Classic in late August.

Calcavecchia, despite an early deficit, continued to peck away at Lehman's points lead in the Charles Schwab Cup and got close enough to make the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship at TPC Harding Park a barn-burner. Calcavecchia needed to finish in a two-way tie for second, if Lehman didn't win, to claim the $1 million bonus. Calcavecchia did his share by getting up to second but came up just short when he was joined there by three other golfers.

From week to week, nobody was more consistent than Calcavecchia or in contention with a chance to win more often. His best play came in the biggest events with three top 5 finishes in the majors. He tied for fifth at the Regions Tradition, was runner-up at the Senior British and third at the U.S. Senior Open. He was also in contention until the late stages of the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship where he finished 12th after a third-round 67 gave him a chance.

"If I played like I played this year for the next nine or eight, or whatever have you, I would be ecstatic with it," Calcavecchia said. "Overall very happy with pretty much all aspects of my game. Anyway, all in all, very consistent year, which is nice."

There is no reason 2012 shouldn't be just as nice for Calcavecchia.

Category Average Rank on Champions Tour Scoring Average 69.04 1st Driving Distance 287.0 7th Driving Accuracy Pct. 67.83 62nd Greens in Regulation 72.31 15th Putting Average 1.725 9th All-Around Ranking 116 2nd Money List $1,867,991 2nd