Solid Saturday round gives Perry hope in war of attrition  PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent DUBLIN, Ohio -- Getting lost in the golf wilderness can either be a jungle or a desert, but either way you're feeling forlorn and you're sweating the small stuff as well as the big picture and you're wondering how you got there and, more importantly, how you're going to escape.  (WireImage)
Kenny Perry was a force to be reckoned with only two years ago, twice a winner and a member of the victorious U.S. Presidents Cup team. Then his knee went bad, his confidence wavered and his swing disappeared. A man who grew up dreaming of playing professional golf seriously contemplated leaving the PGA TOUR. "I was in a bad place," Perry admitted. "It's nice to finally enjoy a walk in the park." Especially after dodging so many land mines. A two-time winner of the Memorial Tournament, including the first of his nine TOUR titles in 1991, Perry shot a light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel 67 Saturday at Muirfield Village Golf Club in the weather-interrupted third round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley. The 5-under-par performance on a calm and cloudy afternoon wasn't low round of the day or even Perry's low round of the year, yet it represented the definitive high point to his season thus far. It was a quality round of golf that gave him a shot of confidence and reminded him he could still play this game with some level of proficiency as the younger generation moves in on his turf. Tied for 17th at 6-under-par 210, Perry isn't like to win this week when he's eight behind, but he's winning the war of attrition all golfers have to wage from time to time -- some longer than others. Perry has struggled for the better part of two years. This year, he has been fighting a lot of pull-hooks. "Ugly shots," he said, curling his face. He figured his mechanics had been adversely affected by a damaged medial collateral ligament that required arthroscopic surgery last spring, but he couldn't diagnose the problem. Prior to THE PLAYERS Championship he drove to Mobile, Ala., to hook up with his original swing instructor, Ron Gring, and he played decently at TPC Sawgrass, though consistency continued to elude him in his tie for 58th. Then he missed the cut at the AT&T Classic and at last week's Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, a place where he twice shot a record 261 in winning in 2003 and '05. Preparing for his eighth straight tournament, Perry, 46, was growing increasingly frustrated. "I was definitely lost," he said. "I was trying to play through all this baloney, but instead of finding something I could build on, I kept getting worse. I really contemplated leaving the game, just quitting. I mean, the best I could do was just barely make the cut on the number. What's the point of that? Why keep playing if you can't compete?" Certainly, Perry hadn't been competitive for some time. Last year, the Kentucky native failed to post a top-10 finish for the first time in his 20-year career and finished a career-low 104th in earnings. This season has been even more discouraging: 14 starts, just one top-25 showing, eight missed cuts and two withdrawals. Since he tied for 19th at the PODS Championship, Perry had broken par just twice and hadn't posted a round in the 60s.
His longtime caddie, Fred Saunders, tried to keep him thinking positive, but it was a challenge. "We've been out on the road for 56 days in a row. It's hard to keep thinking things are eventually going to change, but I told him not to give up." Good thing he didn't. Salvation finally arrived. Tommy Armour III delivered manna from heaven Tuesday during a nine-hole practice round at Muirfield Village. Perry, connecting with a fellow veteran, solicited Armour's opinion even before teeing off. By the second hole, Armour noted that Perry was moving his head off the ball. In three swings, Perry said, he saw improvement. His patented high draw replaced the low hooks. The adjustment congealed on Saturday when he hit all 14 fairways and 14 greens in regulation. He made enough putts with a new belly putter he put in the bag at the start of the week to complete his most solid round of 2007. "It was a simple thing, but it's always that way," Perry said. "Someone else notices it, and it's not a real big change, just something minor. I was over rotating and I was not keeping my head still and I was letting my knee give way even though it's fine now. I firmed up everything and ... well, it was just a big relief to hit some quality shots." "This is how it felt in 2003," Saunders added. "We went to a tournament feeling we could win every week. For a stretch there was no one better, and that's the kind of golf he played today." Will it last? That's when a player knows he's returned from the land of the lost. "My teacher said that one day I was going to play 18 holes well again, and this was the day," Perry said, beaming. "I feel like a new player, instead of some old guy just trying to hang on. It's a good feeling." It always is when you step into the light. |
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