Perry, Campbell: Southern Gentlemen in Command

Mike Dudurich

Posted 2009-04-11

MASTERS WRAPUP II: Kenny Perry has established a couple of traits during his 21-year career on the PGA Tour. First, and most importantly, the Franklin, Kentucky resident is widely known as one of the true nice guys on Tour. Always helpful and concerned about others, Perry’s appearance as a true Southern gentleman is much more than just appearance.

Secondly, the burly Perry is not afraid to take a stance and live with whatever comes as a result. Remember the 1996 PGA Championship at the Valhalla when he took lead in the final round with players still on the course? Instead of staying loose by hitting some balls or putting, he decided to go to the television tower and accept congratulations. Yep, sure enough, Mark Brooks caught him and then beat him in a playoff.

And then last year, Perry had a singular focus: making the Ryder Cup team which, ironically, was going to be played at Valhalla. He didn’t play in the Masters, the U.S. Open or the British Open because he wanted to focus all his energies on playing week-to-week, sharpening his game and gaining enough points to make the U.S. team. We know now that he not only made the team, but was one of the stalwarts as Paul Azinger’s team slapped a serious beat-down on Great Britain & Ireland.

Which brings us to Masters Week 2009. To say Perry has a spotty record at Augusta National Golf Club would be heaping praise on him. When he teed it up there Thursday, it was only the ninth time he’s done so and he missed the cut five times.

He hadn’t played there since 2005 and his best finish was a tie for 12th in 1995. So as the year’s first major goes to the weekend, should it surprise you that Perry is tied for the lead with Chad Campbell at 9-under par? No, it really shouldn’t. Perry seems to have a plan and has been pretty darn successful executing it.

Perry followed up his first-round 68 with a with a bogey-free 67 Friday, topped by a tap-in birdie on 18. Campbell put up a 70 on the heels of his 65 Thursday.

“I really believe I can win this tournament," Perry said after completing his round on a day that featured much more difficult playing conditions, thanks to some gusty winds. “Last year was mine; my plan, I drew it out early in the year and I was not going to deviate from it. And I took a lot of heat from it for skipping those two Majors. I was not in the U.S. Open. After I won Memorial, I still had to go qualify the next Monday, the next day, I had to do a 36-holer. I said no way I'm doing that.

“The only tournament I was actually in was the British and I just didn't want to go over and change my golf ball to work in the wind, change the flight of my golf ball. I just wanted to stay positive, go to a tournament I knew I had had a lot of success at. I went to Milwaukee and took a lot of heat for that. But I just wanted to stay on course and get ready for The Ryder Cup. That's what I was after.”

Should Perry get the green jacket Sunday, he’d become the oldest major champion ever. He’d be 48 years, 8 months old, four months older than Julius Boros when he won the 1968 PGA Championship.

Campbell’s a little younger, 34 years old, but at least he’s had experience being near the top of the leaderboard. Three years ago, he led during a rain-delayed third round but couldn’t maintain and finished third.

There will be plenty of challenges for those two to overcome between now and Sunday evening, including guys like Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and even 2007 U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera.

The set up for the weekend is just about perfect with a crowded leaderboard featuring 27 players within seven shots of the lead. Good weather is forecast for Saturday and Sunday after a somewhat cloudy and gray day Friday.

In one way, at least, Friday’s weather was appropriate. Two former Masters champions, Gary Player and Zoeller, played their final competitive rounds. The 73-year-old Player closed out his spectacular Masters career by making five straight bogeys, including a three-putt on 18 and finished with an 83. “I had a standing ovation on all 36 holes," Player said. "How do you let people know how much you appreciate the love?"

Zoeller, who won the title in 1979, had his daughter on his bag and struggled to a 76 on Friday. As they walked up the hill to the 18th green, he struggled to hold back the tears and jogged from the green to the scorer’s hut after completing play, again in an attempt to control his emotions.

“I hope everybody's had fun, because I enjoyed my ride," said Zoeller. "Now it's time to step aside and let some other young kid come in and win." Maybe that young kid’s name might be Anthony Kim, the 23-year-old who set a Masters’ record Friday by posting 11 birdies in a round of 65.

It’s gonna be a fun weekend.

Start a Feedback Thread Or Talk About This Article

About Mike...
As a sports writer for over 35 years, Mike Dudurich has seen a lot of great things, covered spectacular events, but his passion is, and has been golf. He recently ended a 29-year career at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and will now be a frequent contributor on GolfGearReview.com. Mike hosts a weekly golf radio show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh from the beginning of April through the end of August. The show airs Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. and can be heard online at http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1250/show?showId=insidepghgolf - Listen to Mike Here!.

Mike's Most Recent Features

Will Michelle Wie now go to the next level? - I can’t say that I’m a huge Michelle Wie fan.

She’s a gifted golfer and, even at 20 years old, has shown glimpses of the talent we’ve heard about for the last 10 years or more. So I do have t

Some familiar names fail to keep PGA Tour cards for 2010 - The 2009 “regular season” on the PGA Tour is over.

So is the Fall Series, the add-on to that regular season, made up of tournaments with lesser purses but, at the same time, provide those who

Mickelson sets stage for dramatic 2010 - Soooooooooo, while those at the pinnacle of the PGA Tour’s food chain finish off their 2009 season with a lucrative week in China, those desperately trying to get a foot in the door at the bottom end

Tour players forced to mingle ... and don't like it - I’ve said this before and probably will say it many, many more times.

In a lot of ways, I respect professional golfers much more than a lot of other athletes in the “play for pay” business. A

GolfCourt anyone? An idea with real 'net' merit - Look around your town or city and if you don’t readily find a tennis court that’s greatly underused or overgrown, you’re in a rare locale.

Those tennis courts are the target of a creation kno

Smith adds to Western Pa. golf lore with Mid-Amateur triumph - Pardon me while I wax parochial for a few words.

I am a life-long resident of western Pennsylvania, an area of the world that lacks the sunshine and warm weather of some parts of the world, b

Thoughts to live by when planning a golf trip - It’s my opinion, and one that’s widely shared among those who have ever participated in a golf trip, that what happens in the days and months prior to the trip itself is critical to the success of the

Woods perfect, U.S. wins President Cup - Sometimes, things are almost too good to be true.

I mean, seriously. The world’s best player, who took a long time to warm up to these team championships, providing the Presidents Cup-winning

U.S. leads Presidents Cup ... but not by much - Two days into the eighth edition of the Presidents Cup, things are just about where they should be.

The United States team has a 6 ½-5 ½ lead over the Internationals, built in large part in t

Games can add to golf trip excitement - In Part I of this series, I regaled you with a Reader’s Digest version of a four-man golf trip to central Florida, a trip that had only a bit of drama and was pretty much straight golf. No games, no b

Home - More Golf News & Reviews
Start a Feedback Thread Or Talk About This Article

Didn't find what you need? Try our site search:

Golfsmith Tennis - Best Brands, Best Prices