Weekley, a true original, takes his Heritage victory in stride  PGATOUR.com Contributor HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - The PGA TOUR may have found a new star in Boo Weekley, who won the Verizon Heritage in spectacular fashion Monday at Harbour Town Golf Links.  A pair of crucial chip-ins led Boo Weekley to his first PGA TOUR victory. (Kevin C. Cox/WireImage)
Weekley, whose nickname comes from cartoon character Yogi Bear's sidekick Boo Boo, demonstrated that he not only is a talented golfer, but he has a flair for the dramatic and a wicked sense of humor. Weekley chipped in twice for par on the last two holes Monday, proving you don't necessarily need to be a great putter to win on TOUR. It was his putter, you may recall, that let him down back in March at The Honda Classic, when he missed a 3-footer for his first win and ended up losing in a four-way playoff. He had finished sixth a week earlier in Cancun, Mexico. Asked if he wore red so it would match the tartan plaid jacket awarded to Verizon Heritage champions, Weekley said: "I'm an Alabama fan and I like wearing red. I just happened to put it on today." Asked about wearing rain pants on the course because he is allergic to cotton, Weekley said the problem usually occurs when he is playing in hot weather. "It just looks like I've got ringworm. Have you ever had ringworm?" Weekley asked. "It itches, I can tell you that. Bad case of poison ivy is about what it's like." Have you ever considered a comedy club? "No sir, I ain't good at that. I ain't good at it," Weekley said. But he is good with that 58-degree Cleveland wedge, which is "shaved off the back a little bit," he said. "Boo walks to his own drum. That's what people really like about him," said Heath Slocum, who played four years of high school golf with Weekley. Slocum said they became became good buddies when the Slocums moved to Milton, Fla., and they've been pulling for each other ever since. "He came close at Honda. I'm proud of him for having earned the opportunity. He's played so well this year and he's finally getting the opportunity to show the world how talented and good he really is," Slocum said. Weekley actually grew up across the river in East Milton, where "we got a couple of gas stations, a dirt track, river and a prison," he said. "Boo's always been different," Slocum said. "He's just who he is. He doesn't change. That's one of the things I admire about him. He didn't change when he came out here in 2002 and he hasn't changed this year. He's really a guy you almost can't not like. He tells it like it is. He tells you how he's feeling. There's not a lot of guys out here who will do that." Slocum said he expects greater things from Weekley as he becomes accustomed to the PGA TOUR lifestyle. "I don't think we've seen his full potential," he said. "It's been a short year. He's working his way up the money list and the world rankings. He's got all the tools to win out here." The win moved Weekley to eighth on the 2007 FedExCup points list, a rating system Weekley said he still doesn't understand.
"I've tried and tried," Weekley said, adding that he's probably irritated a few people on the PGA TOUR who have tried to explain the points system that will award a $10 million bonus to the season champion. And he also said he doesn't understand all the exemptions he has earned this season. "I don't keep up with golf," Weekley said. "I call and they say, 'All right, you're in this tournament,' and I just go and play. I call my agent and say I need a ride over here, I need a ride over there. That's how I go about it. This is where I work at, you know?" What he does know, is he is headed to New Orleans, via Pensacola, Fla. "We're fixing to fly home and drop Joe Durant off. We're going to kick him out of the airplane," said Weekley, who was supposed to play Monday in a pro-am hosted by Durant to benefit The First Tee program. Then we're going to fly over to New Orleans, and I don't know yet. I might go to the casino tonight." Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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