Perry makes right call
The controversy over Kenny Perry skipping the British Open to play in the U.S. Bank Championship (the artist formerly known as the Greater Milwaukee Open) escapes me.
Skipping a major championship, as Perry is doing, is not an insult to the event's governing body or the host country or anything else. It is a simple admission of defeat. By taking a pass on the British Open, Perry is admitting that he can't win the British Open.
That may seem like a strange position for a player who has won twice this year and 11 times in his career but the man is 47 and despite looking like a world-beater when he gets on a hot streak (like he's on now), his record says he's not major-championship caliber. If Perry was going to win a major, he would have done it before the age of 47. What's wrong with admitting, three years before you're eligible to play senior golf, that your high-draw ball flight is ill-suited to windy British Open links-style golf?
Kenny Perry can't win the British Open. By playing in Milwaukee that week instead, he's just admitting the slightly painful, but obvious truth. Give him credit, not criticism, for his honesty.
(Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
If Perry had won the 1996 PGA at Valhalla, he would appreciate the significance of majors. It would be impossible to imagine him ever skipping a major in that case - much like Captain Azinger ... hmmmmm ..
Posted by: Big Driving Dave | July 14, 2008 at 10:56 AM
Kenny Perry wants to have a Milwaukee Beers for the rest of his life..not Claret Jug without beer! He thinks Ryder Cup glory will make him a Hall of Famer! Not a chance unless you win at least 2 or three Major. And Kenny Perry is not a major caliber player!
Posted by: UUG | July 12, 2008 at 07:30 PM
It's fine for him to make a judgment call about whether or not to play. But it's also fine for us to make judgments about his ambition or psyche as a result.
Posted by: John | July 12, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Why wasn't anyone moaning throughout the year when Kenny Perry set his schedule?
Get over it no one in 148 years of the OPEN has ever won it at age 47. The oldest was 44 and NO this wouldn't have been the year.
Posted by: eldrick | July 11, 2008 at 07:59 PM
Kenny Perry carried some psyhological scar tissue from the loss to Mark Brooks at the PGA Championship in Valhalla in 1996. It was embarrassing to see him in the broadcast booth after he had finished his round, chatting away and cooling down when he should have been on the practice range preparing for a possible playoff. It is notable that no golfer has every done this since and they learned the lesson from Perry's mistake.
Because of this, I sense that Perry tries to vidicate himself by feeling that "the majors are not that important" in order to dull the pain.
Perry says that this Ryder Cup will be the highlight of his career. The problem is that everyone will remember him more for the debacle at Valhalla 12 years ago. The only was to redeem himself is to win a major. Otherwise, he will just become the PGA Tour version of the "Queen of the Shoprite Classic" - only winning tournaments that fade from the collective memory of golfers after a couple of years. In a decade, golf fans will have to dig down deep to remember who that Penny Kerry guy was - oh yeah, he was the guy that Mark Brooks beat.
Posted by: Pinseeker | July 11, 2008 at 11:32 AM
The topic of Perry skipping another major won’t go away and could be a locker room issue at the Ryder Cup. Who wants to be paired with someone who shies away from playing against the best on the world’s biggest stages? Who wants to be paired with a guy who sees the Ryder Cup as an opportunity to parade himself in front of his home state fans as part of some farewell tour? Who wants to be paired with someone who has given up on the majors and sees mere participation in the Ryder Cup as the pinnacle of his career? Oh wait, Fred Funk would.
Posted by: Take Dead Aim | July 11, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Just to throw a European perspective into the mix here, Perry has been getting some pretty bad press on this side of the pond for staying stateside for the Open. The whole things smacks of hypocracy though from the (mostly British) press. I remember in '93 (I think) Mark James declined his invite to the US Open on the grounds that he never played well at the tournament and would stand a better chance at the Jersey Open on the Channel Islands. Far from being critisised, his decision was lauded as correct, bold and showing those nasty Americans that we don't dance to their tune all the time. Ultimately though it was his call to skip that US Open as it is Perry's to play in Milwaukee. Anyone else feel that, like Mark James, the words "mountain" and "molehill" are appropriate here?
Posted by: Ivor | July 11, 2008 at 06:04 AM
Yes, Kenny Perry seems like a good bloke but skipping the Open Championship (or any Major for that matter) is just wrong! Everything else is just an excuse...
Posted by: Al | July 11, 2008 at 04:23 AM
Finally, someone gets it right! Thanks Mr. Tidwell. Just wish a Senior Writer for SI could have done the same instead of writing what reads to me as being an extremely sarcastic blog. I had hoped when I saw the title/subject of the blog and who was writing it that it would be one of sincerity as I believe Kenny Perry is one of the "good guys" on tour. And it maybe, but after reading Mr. Van Sickle's material over the past few years I unfortunately doubt its sincerity. Why couldn't the Senior SI writer just say that Kenny Perry is a man of character and he made the right call because he is a man of his word? After all, he did comment that nobody was asking why he wasn't playing The Open when he was ranked 100th or so in the world. Guess that doesn't play as well in the media as saying he isn't playing because he doesn't think he can win.
Posted by: Golf Nut | July 11, 2008 at 03:51 AM
I'm amazed that nobody has thought of the obvious reason for Kenny not showing up. He gave his word to someone that he would be playing in Milwaukee earlier this year. Kenny's word obviously means more to him then winning a major. Maybe everyone should realize why he is the most respected guy on tour. I believe the fine folks from Kentucky call it 'character'. ;-)
Posted by: Ed Tidwell | July 10, 2008 at 08:43 PM
Kenny Perry actually has a pretty decent record in the Open Championship. Three of his last four starts over there have yielded top-16 finishes. He is playing lights out right now, and to say he "can't" win the Open is ludicrous; he would actually be a top ten favorite to win based on his current play.
Oh, and speaking of ball flights, Calcavecchia's high banana ball doesn't exactly seem to go with the Open Championship, but I don't think he refused the Claret Jug when it was presented to him. Majors are majors for a reason, and if you are one of the best players in the world, you play. I respect Kenny Perry immensely and I truly believe the sentiment that he may be the most decent guy on tour. That said...this decision is crazy...not that he cares (nor should he) what I think.
Posted by: Matt | July 10, 2008 at 07:02 PM
Not that it matters what I think but I am in complete agreement with Azinger (captain and golfing great) - "I don't care and he doesn't care...So why should it bother anybody else? The guy has the guts of a burglar. He's going to be 48. He can do whatever he wants. I'm happy for him." It does matter what he thinks.
VanSickly is not out there playing and working his butt off to represent his country - all these armchair critics can blow it out their smart end.
Posted by: KTD | July 10, 2008 at 01:37 PM
Sad but likely true statement. I like Kenny Perry, but do not think he would have a good shot at winning the open. He would have had a better shot at the US open.
Posted by: Jim Budelman | July 10, 2008 at 01:01 PM
I am in complete agreement with Ken.
Why waste his time and a slot that can be better used by someone like Darren Clarke or Jose Maria Olazabal who have the experience and ability to play the Open¿
Posted by: Robert Burrows | July 10, 2008 at 12:02 PM