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WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
| Weekley might not know match play nuances, but he sure knows winningFeb. 22, 2008MARANA, Ariz. -- Boo Weekley doesn't tune into golf tournaments on TV. No, sir. He'd much rather be watching fishing or hunting or a NASCAR race.  Boo Weekley is succeeding on a different kind of hunting trip this week. (Dunn/WireImage)
"It's got to be moving, man," Weekley explained. "Golf ain't moving." So he hasn't seen any of those epic Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup battles of late. Shoot, Weekley probably doesn't even know who won. Small wonder, then, that some of the nuances and rules of match play have been lost on him. Just ask Martin Kaymer, Weekley's opponent in Thursday's first round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. He had an 8-inch putt on the first hole of their Thursday match that Weekley didn't concede. "I'm putting my ball down, and he's looking at me and I'm looking at him, like are you going to tap it in?" Weekley recalled, grinning. "Joe said, "Just pick it up." I'm like, "Pick it up?" Honestly, I didn't know. That's how that started out." What Weekley does know, though, is how to play golf. And he's been doing that extremely well this week -- advancing to the third round where he will play his good friend Woody Austin after beating Sergio Garcia 3 and 1 on Thursday. Colin Montgomerie, who is one of the world's best when it comes to match play, laughed Thursday when he was told that Weekley didn't know about the concession rule. He seemed more interested, though, in what Weekley's given name was. "Well, he's a very, very good golfer, Boo," said Montgomerie, who teamed with Marc Warren to beat Weekley and Heath Slocum on the third playoff hole at the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup last year. "Fantastic. "I can't call him Boo. What is his name? It can't be Boo, can it? What's his birth certificate say?" For the record, Monty, it's Thomas Brent. He was nicknamed after Yogi Bear's sidekick, Boo-Boo. Montgomerie may not have seen the classic cartoon back home in Scotland, but he certainly expects to see more of Weekley. "He's a very, very good golfer," Montgomerie said. "He was playing ahead of me today against Garcia, and it's always a good person to beat in Garcia, very good. ... (At the World Cup), he was fabulous. First time I had come across him, but he's a very good golfer, and I expect him to be in the Ryder Cup team, I really do. "I think it will be interesting. Hope he has a little bit more experience in the match play game by the time we get to that stage. But I expect him to be in the Ryder Cup. He's very, very good. I was very impressed with him." Weekley and his third-round opponent are two American originals, as one sportswriter suggested Thursday afternoon. Austin may not be as backwoods as his buddy, but he certainly isn't cut in the country club mode, either. "I've said all along, when it comes to golf, when it comes to what you think of professional golfers, I'm not a professional golfer," Austin said. "I didn't play or practice in any kind of country club. I have no teacher, I have nothing that you would consider as a professional golfer. "Boo fits that same build. I don't know of any teachers that he said that he had while he was growing up or whatever. The big difference is he's a big hunter; I don't hunt. He's a hunter fisher, I'm still a sports junky. So there's the difference as far as that. "But as far as golf backgrounds, I think that's why we get on, because we're both not supposed to be here, basically." The last time he took a break from the PGA TOUR, Weekley went deer hunting. The next time, it will be turkey season and five weeks later, fishing will take center stage. But it's the hunting that Weekley likes best. "I love the smell of that gunpowder burning," Weekley said. "You just shoot and hear the noise." He doesn't kill for killing's sake, though. Weekley always eats what he shoots. His great-grandfather taught him that -- the hard way -- after he shot a blackbird. "Blackbird is awful, dude," Weekley said. "You ought to try eating that thing. I shot the bird, and he said, 'If you're going to shoot this bird, take a life, you need to eat it.' "I brought it right in, plucked the feathers off of it and he stuck it right in the fryer. It ain't very good, I can tell you that." Weekley won the Verizon Heritage and more than $2 million last year. He figures if he gets to about $8 million, he'll have enough to provide for his growing family -- his second son is due on July 4 -- and then he can hunt and fishing full time. Truth be told, though, Weekley is still a little amazed at the money he has made since turning pro. "I got home (from the World Cup), sitting around the fire outside, and we all got to laughing, it was like, dude, you're a millionaire, and I said, 'You think?'" Weekley said. "I was like, 'Well, that's pretty special, to be able to make that much money.' "But at the same time, I turned and looked at him, 'Well, I'll tell you what, I'll pay your taxes if you pay mine.' | HEADLINES
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