Kenny Perry to make his Champions Tour debut this week
While Kenny Perry was practicing his putting stroke at the SBS Championships in Hawaii, his first PGA Tour event of the year, he suddenly experienced a serious equipment malfunction.
The head of his putter simply fell off the shaft, prompting Perry to turn to his caddie, saying “It’s going to be a bad year.”
Unfortunately for Perry, who turned 50 years old this past August, he was right. The 14-time winner on the PGA Tour, although he made the cut in 16 of his 20 events, had one lone top-10
this season, finishing 93rd on the money list. He had finished ninth on the money list in 2009 and 15th in 2008.
But this week, Perry will look to rejuvenate his career on another circuit: The Champions Tour.
“I’ve had a smile on my face this week,” said Perry, who will play his first-ever Champions Tour event at the Administaff Small Business Classic this week in Texas. “It’s neat to get back
with the guys you played with in your junior years. They’ve been calling me rookie all week. I have a hard time getting used to that. It’s hard to believe I’m 50.”
Perry, a member of the 2008 Ryder Cup team and a two-time winner on tour in 2009, missed the cut in three of his past five PGA Tour events, then took a six-week break to prepare for his
debut on the senior circuit, whose minimum age of eligibility is 50 years old.
“I’d kind of gotten burned out,” he said of his season. “I threw everything I have at the ’08 Ryder Cup and it seemed from then on I’ve lost focus. I had a good 2009 but this year has
seemed to be just a mediocre year. I didn’t have goals. I was just plodding along.”
Perry knows his golf history and has therefore noticed the large number of golfing legends taking part in the event.
“It’s been a neat two days since I’ve been here,” he said. “I’ve had all the guys coming up and welcoming me to this tour — Hale Irwin, Curtis Strange, Mark O’Meara, Ben Crenshaw. It’s
the who’s who of golf. All these guys I’ve looked up to my whole career and who made me the player I am and they’re all here playing.”
Steve Lowery is also making his Champions Tour debut this week. A victory by him or Perry would mark the 16th time a rookie has won his first event on the Champions Tour. And Perry, taking
the advice of his colleagues to heart, seems to be relaxed and ready to go.
“Their advice to me was that you’re going to have fun,” Perry said. “It’s totally different from the PGA Tour. I feel that. They’re relaxed and laid back and having a good time. I’ve been
on the tour for 25 years and it’s a welcomed relief.”
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