Perry a perfect fit for Payne Stewart Award

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Badz/PGA TOUR

Kenny Perry is still winning, still thrilling fans and still a gentleman of the game at 49. That's why he's the latest honoree.

ATLANTA -- By definition, the Payne Stewart Award is given each year to a player who shows respect for the traditions of the game, a commitment to uphold the game's heritage of charitable support and a professional and meticulous presentation of himself and the sport through his dress and conduct.

Words, however, cannot accurately describe the meaning of the Payne Stewart Award. You must examine the Payne Stewart Award qualifications in light of previous winners. Then it becomes easier to understand what it really means and why the award has become one of the most prestigious honors given each year.

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Consider the definition of the award again as you mentally run through these names of past winners: Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, Nick Price, Tom Watson, Jay Haas, Brad Faxon, Gary Player, Hal Sutton and Davis Love III.

Now you can add Kenny Perry to that list. It's a great fit, and Perry is a very deserving choice to join the others on the Mount Rushmore of professional golf. He certainly lives up to each of the high-character qualifications and more than fits in with others already honored. Payne Stewart would be happy that Perry is now part of the club.

Perry's character has shone through from the early stages of his professional career and has never lost its glow. Like most young professionals, Perry was struggling financially but wanted to try q-school for the third time before giving up his dream. Businessman Ronnie Franklin, who owned the local laundry in Franklin, Ky., loaned him $5,000, with the understanding that he give a percentage of his winnings to Lipscomb University. Franklin had attended the school, as had Kenny's wife, Sandy.

Perry got his playing card and began to meet his obligation of giving five percent of each check to the school. He even repaid the loan to Franklin with his first big paycheck, even though he wasn't required to do so. He continues to give money to Lipscomb University today and has pumped more than $1.3 million into the school's scholarship fund. Perry and Franklin were both inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2008, even though Perry didn't attend the school.

Perry has enjoyed a career free of controversy. Quiet by nature, he has been a good citizen of the PGA TOUR. He's accessible to the media and has always been friendly to the fans. He's got a man-of-the-people quality that most badge-buying gallery members appreciate.

And he has won, too. Fourteen victories have come on the PGA TOUR -- 11 of them after his 40th birthday, a remarkable accomplishment. But it may have been a loss at the Masters this spring that brought out Perry's true character. Perry had his right arm in the sleeve of the green jacket, a two-shot lead with two holes to play, when he finished bogey-bogey to force a playoff, which he lost.

Perry isn't the first guy to crack under the heat, and he won't be the last, but he faced the music like a man. Deeply saddened and emotionally fragile, he nevertheless bared his soul and showed us he was human, and we all came away with further admiration for his willingness to "man up" to the situation. Many others would have fled to the sanctity of the locker room -- happy to talk when they win but too eager to run away when they lose. Perry took the road less traveled, which says a lot about the man.

Although his 50th birthday is less than a year away, Perry's competitive days appear to be a long way from being over. This season he has won twice, posted 11 top-25s and has yet to miss a cut in 23 starts. That doesn't sound like a guy playing out the string.

So here's a toast to Kenny Perry, the latest winner of the Payne Stewart Award. May your days be long and productive on the PGA TOUR. May others see and follow the example you continue to set. And may you have one more opportunity to hold a two-shot lead with two holes left in a major championship. This time, we'd like to hear your acceptance speech.