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The 19th Hole
June 1, 2008
It’s a Different Day
Kenny Perry became a
three time champion of the Memorial Tournament this weekend. He did so with
what he described as a perfect round of 69 to win two clear of a host of
players. Perry performed extremely well on a Muirfield Village course that had
major championship styled setup. Greens were running nearly 14 on the
Stimpmeter and missing the generous fairways resulted in a play out of US
Open-esque rough.
The Kentuckian’s
performance perfectly explains why Kenny Perry is not going to play in the real
US Open in two weeks at Torrey Pines. What? That’s right. Kenny Perry is
going to skip playing in the US Open despite being one of the hottest golfers on
the planet right now.
Unfortunately for Perry,
he was not exempted into the field for the Open meaning that he would have to
play in a 36 hole qualifier on Monday in order to get into the field. Even
still, that would not be a sure thing. And, apparently, Kenny Perry just does
not do 36 holes in day.
Alex Miceli talked to
Perry for Golfweek and quotes Perry saying, “I will never do that again. It just
wears me out. I’m not physically capable of being – it ruins too many weeks. It
ruins my next week and it ruins trying to prepare that week for the tournament.
It takes too much out of me.”
Yes, Perry is 47 years
old and 36 holes are too much for many people. Still, it is the US Open, a
major championship, and a tournament that offers double Ryder Cup points for the
players. Perry has made no secret that he has planned his 2008 schedule
exclusively around making the Ryder Cup team for Valhalla. Captain Paul Azinger
recently said that it would almost certainly take a victory this season to make
the American team. Perry took that message to heart in his attempt to win.
Even if he did not win
at Torrey, though, a solid finish would all but assure him a place on the
American squad in September. To endure 36 holes to qualify does not seem like a
viable reason to skip the Open and leaves the question of “Why?” unanswered.
The second reason, though, does not seem much better: Kenny Perry simply does
not like Torrey Pines. “I’ve only played (Torrey Pines) three times in my
career so that kind of answers that question. I don’t like it. Never have.”
Therefore, since Perry
does not want to play 36 holes or involve himself at a golf course that makes
him uncomfortable, he is going to take his clubs and go home for that weekend.
I simply cannot understand this decision. It is nonsensical. I can understand
the willingness of players to skip regular events, the non-majors. Even for as
annoyed as I am that several top players withdrew from the Memorial – a special
event – I can at least understand how one can arrive at skipping the event in
comparison to the US Open.
There are some
professional golfers that will never even sniff the US Open because they cannot
qualify through local and sectional avenues, or they just are not good enough to
get into the Open on their own merits. Thousands of amateur golfers try to
qualify for the Open each year regardless of how preposterous the course setup
is or how well it may favor their games (hint: not at all). The bottom line is
that if someone has an opportunity to play in a major championship, the general
rule is that you do not turn it down.
Though Perry would have
to go through sectional qualifying to get into the Open at Torrey, his play of
late indicates that he almost certainly would have been a lock to get in the
field. In effect, Perry is admitting that it is not worth it for him to try to
win a major. It is good enough to walk away from this season to make the Ryder
Cup team and perhaps never win a major in his career. The heartbreaking attempt
in 1996 at the PGA Championship – at the same Valhalla hosting the Ryder Cup in
2008 – must have been good enough for Perry.
That is a personal
decision. Everyone sets their own professional goals in their lives and has a
different threshold of success. The biggest issue, though, is the slap in the
face of tradition and the USGA that Perry is performing by not even attempting
to qualify for the Open. If Perry were exempt, he would show up to Torrey.
But, since he is not, he is telling the USGA that their major championship is
not good enough for his effort.
Yes, players complain
like mad at the Open about the setup. They generally should. It is usually
ridiculous. Despite the complaints, though, they handle it and get through it
because the potential to win a major championship is worth the pain. Or, at
least, so conventional wisdom says. Perry made a different decision. It is not
conventional and, in my mind, is not wise either.
Ryan Ballengee is the operator of The Golf News Network and host
of The 19th Hole Golf Show and LPGA on GNN.
Having graduated from the University of Maryland
in 2004 and 2006, Ballengee brings the perspective of the younger golf fan to
the microphone and his columns. Over the nearly five years he has been
broadcasting and writing, Ballengee has developed a reputation for a unique
interviewing style that asks both the difficult and fun questions. He
can be reached at
ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
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