Hottest Player On Tour But Perry Can't Face Britain In July
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday July 16, 2008
"HE'S the hottest player on the tour right now so it's strange that he is not here," said England's Justin Rose when asked about the notable absentee from this year's British Open.
Rose was not talking about the injured Tiger Woods, but American veteran Kenny Perry, whose decision to snub the event despite racking up three victories on the US PGA Tour in the past seven weeks has left some of his fellow professionals shaking their heads.Even countrymen such as Jim Furyk, who said he respected Perry's decision, found it difficult to believe he would not have a crack at the Open given his brilliant form, even if his high-ball game was not suited to the windblown links. "You can't win on the couch," Furyk mused. The 47-year-old Perry was offered a first-class seat on a direct charter flight from the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois to Manchester, which would have given him ample time to prepare. Instead, he chose to honour a commitment to play a half-strength event in Milwaukee.Perry also missed the US Open, claiming the long Torrey Pines layout would not suit his style or aid his ultimate goal this year - which was to make the US Ryder Cup team, with the event to be played in his home state of Kentucky. But with Perry now assured a spot on the team, his reluctance to take part is even more difficult to fathom."In the past, I've always tried to win a major and I couldn't do it," explained Perry who lost a play-off the Mark Brooks at the 1996 US PGA championship. "Now I don't really worry too much about it. I don't care too much about winning a major. "I played Birkdale in '91, missed the cut there. My stroke average at the British Open is 76 point whatever. I'm not good when it gets to 40 and 50 degrees [fahrenheit] and 50-mile-an-hour winds. I'm a hot-weather guy." Perry did get some support from a fellow veteran in Mark O'Meara, whose flight to England was delayed by eight hours. "At 51, where would I rather be - in the south fork of the Snake River in my tent or sitting on that runway at JFK with about 30 planes in front of me? That's not a hard decision to make any more. I'd rather be fly fishing, for sure."Perry is well aware of the criticism but it has not changed his mind. "Well, you know what, I'm not going to lie, it kind of bothers me a little bit," he said. "But you know what? I'm an independent contractor. I can do whatever I want and if the critics don't like it that's fine. They can say all they want to."
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
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