
I give Kenny Perry credit for formulating a game plan and sticking to it. The 47-year-old won the Memorial Tournament on the first day of this month, and promptly announced he would be forgoing the U.S. Open to concentrate on making the Ryder Cup team.
Kinda weird since you get twice the Ryder Cup points in the majors (just like Scrabble!), but historically, Perry had struggled at Torrey Pines, and instead of traipsing off to Southern California for what would likely be a frustrating two days of golf before heading back to Kentucky, Perry opted to play Memphis, Hartford and Detroit.
In those three tournaments, Perry finished T24, T6, and 1. As in, he won the whole damned thing in Detroit (shockingly, John Daly -- and Bob -- missed the cut). So, to recap: a 24th, sixth, and first are worth a helluva lot more points than a MC at the U.S. Open.
Which is why it makes perfect sense that Perry's skipping the British Open, too.
Perry ... confirmed that he will skip the British Open to play in the Greater Milwaukee Open in his attempt to make this year's Ryder Cup in his home state of Kentucky.Hey, if Perry's goals are to make the Ryder Cup team at the expense of missing majors, I'm not going to begrudge the guy. In fact, I wish him luck, because he, along with his teammates, are going to need it (if recent Ryder Cup history is any guide, anyway).
"I've won Milwaukee, and I've top-10ed it there the last 12 years in a row and love that tournament," said Perry, No. 6 in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings. "I'll play the British next year.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-30-2008 @ 4:12PM
John said...
I think it's ridiculous to give him credit. I understand that he wants to play in the Ryder Cup, but the Ryder Cup is meant for the best players Europe and the United States have to offer and is a showcase of the best talent. If you are so convinced that you cannot make a cut in our national championship that you do not even try, how good can you really be? And while no win is a bad win, The Buick Open had one of the worst fields of the year that is not an opposite field event, so I'm not exactly impressed.
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7-01-2008 @ 3:30PM
Dean said...
I agree with Ryan Wilson, it's refreshing to see a Pro think of something that's not related directly to the almighty dollar. He's 47 years old, has won 11 tournaments in his career and aspires to be on a US team to leave a legacy. If we want to put the "best US players on the Ryder Cup team" then John had better check out Kenny's stats this year - among "the best" of the pack.
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