Austin and Calcavecchia hold on
Woody Austin and Mark Calcavecchia captured the Merrill Lynch Shootout with a one-shot victory over Greg Norman and Bubba Watson last night.
Playing a scramble format in the final round of the three-day event, the team combined to shoot a nine-under-par 63 for a tournament total of 29-under 187.
Both one-time winners on the PGA Tour this season, Austin and Calcavecchia held off the duo of Norman and Watson, who carded a 10-under 62 to finish alone in second.
Norman was the tournament host for the event held at Tiburon Golf Club, a course he designed.
Five pairings ended up tied for third, another four shots behind. Included in that group was the team of Chris DiMarco and Camilo Villegas, who had the best round of the day with a 13-under 59.
Defending champions Jerry Kelly and Rod Pampling also finished in the group.
Charles Howell III and Nick Price finished last in the 12-team event at 199.
Austin and Calcavecchia began the round atop the leaderboard, two strokes ahead of the pairing of Norman and Watson, and held off the group to continue the Australian’s struggles.
Norman has played in all 19 editions of this tournament since 1989, but only has one title to show for it. “The Shark” claimed his only championship in 1998.
It was the second win in this event for Calcavecchia, who teamed up with Steve Elkington for a title in 1995.
