THE 150TH OPEN

July 15, 2022

Mark Calcavecchia

Mixed Zone

Q. Describe just the emotions on the 18th hole, what you were expecting and what it actually felt like.

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I felt it. I felt the emotions. Got a little mildly choked up, but all the way around, the last two days, the fans were great. They were cheering for me and pulling for me, and they'll aware that this was my last Open. So that was pretty cool. It means a lot. It really does.

Q. Is that your family there with you as well?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: Yes, my kids. My son, daughter, and son-in-law are here. They've never been here, so everybody's having a great time.

Forget about my golf. It wouldn't have mattered if I shot a pair of 75s or a pair of 85s, which I nearly did. It was about playing one more, my last one here at the home of golf, which is really cool to be able to end it here.

Q. What does it mean to do it here versus another venue?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: It's just more special because it's here, it's St Andrews. It's the home of golf.

If I would have been healthy last year, I would have played last year, and I would have been fine with that. But when I got the e-mail from Martin Slumbers, when he said the committee has unanimously agreed to have you play your last Open here at St Andrews, that was a great night. That was a great e-mail I got. I've really been looking forward to it for quite a while.

Unfortunately, my knees are really bad, both of them. I'm thinking knee surgery here is looming. Anyway, got around. My goal was to make the cut. I thought I could do that, but then I just got off to a crappy start. After that, I was just trying to make pars, basically.

Q. Most people sort of leave straight after. Will you go home straightaway after this?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: No, we're going to hang around all weekend. I was planning on playing next week at the Senior Open over at Gleneagles. But the way my knee's feeling, I don't think I'll be able to do that. I might have to come up with an alternate plan. Go back home Monday and go see what's going on with my knees. But we'll see.

Q. Would you have come back for one more if it had been somewhere else, or was it because it was St Andrews, do you think?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: No, you kind of always want to play your last one, even if it was -- like I said, even if I was able to play last year, I'd have played. But it's even extra special that it's here.

It's tough out there. There's some hole locations that I've never seen before here, and I played here a lot. There's some doozies.

Q. Even more so today than yesterday, right?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: Yeah, they're tough. The weather's perfect now, so there still be good scoring. It's a little bit softer. It's not quite as bouncy, but it's still hard.

Q. Are you usually an emotional person? Is that sort of unusual for you to get teared up on the bridge?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: No, I'm usually a pretty emotional person. Yeah, sad movies or something, I'll shed a tear or something or something emotional is going on. Yeah, that's normal for me.

I'm not like Steve Stricker, but I get a little choked up sometimes.

Q. What time was the wakeup call this morning?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: Well, I set it for 5:00, but I actually got up at 3:35 to go to the restroom, and I started looking at my iPad, and I figured there's no point in going back to bed at that point.

That's no problem. We went to bed early. I'm an early riser anyway.

Q. How did you feel on that first shot?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: I didn't go to the range, so I was a little stiff. That's not quite as easy, but I figured I could get it in the 1st fairway somewhere.

Pulled my driver a bit, but I hit a beautiful 9-iron, and I thought, all right, let's go out and have a good day.

But the putting was brutal all week. Had a good shot and missed it and kept three-putting after that.

Q. Do you think Tiger will stop on the Swilcan Bridge today?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: I'm going to say no. This isn't his last Open, especially here. He'll be back.