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Calcavecchia not following modern trends
American Mark Calcavecchia,Open champion at Royal Troon in 1989, is thankful he does not have to match the work ethic of some of the game's younger players.
World number one Tiger Woods set the recent trend for lengthy hours on the range and in the gym after turning professional in late 1996, but the 44-year-old Calcavecchia prefers not to follow suit.
"I've always said I'd rather have root canal treatment than go to the gym for three hours," Calcavecchia told a new conference at Royal Troon as he prepared for this week'sOpen.
"There are just certain things that I couldn't do. I can hit balls for about an hour. I go work with (swing coach) Butch Harmon and two hours is about all I can last.
"Some of these guys today stand out there for three hours in the morning, have lunch and then go out for another two or three in the afternoon.
"I could never do it. It's just not part of my make-up. I do not love the art of standing on a range watching a golf ball fly through the air.
"I certainly practised very hard when I was in my twenties, but I would say not like the young guys of today."
Calcavecchia won the 1989 Open after edging Australians Wayne Grady and Greg Norman in a playoff, the first in the tournament's history to be contested over four holes.
At the final extra hole, he hit a superb five-iron to seven feet before holing out for birdie to secure the Claret Jug.
He is delighted to be back at the Ayrshire links course for this week's Open, but knows his chances of winning the Claret Jug for a second time are remote.
"Everything would have to go great for me," said the American, who has not won on the PGA Tour since the 2001 Phoenix Open. "This year my golf game has been very good at times, and awful at times.
"My goal is to win, and it is a possibility. But for me to beat Ernie (Els) and Phil (Mickelson) and all the rest of the world's best players over four days here would be a shocker."
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