A Guy Like Kenny Perry Should Win The PGA Championship

August 7, 2008

The PGA Championship, the final of the season’s four major championships, began today at Oakland Hills Golf Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. And I couldn’t care less if Tiger Woods is playing or not.

I’d rather see a guy like Kenny Perry win.

Perry has won nine PGA Tour titles, including three events this season, the best of his long career.

A dozen years ago, I sat next to Perry on a bus for a couple of hours en route to a golf tournament in Morocco. He told me stories about winning the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in Southern California and hilarious stories about meeting the tournament’s namesake. And he told me about his fondness for living in Kentucky.

Perry’s the kind of guy you’d want as a neighbor. If you happen to crack two beers after (or before) mowing the lawn on a Saturday afternoon, Perry would be guy to whom I’d like to hand the second beer.

With or without Woods, the World’s No. 1 player, Perry said in a pre-tournament press conference that the PGA Championships has an “everyman” feel to it.

“This remains my favorite major,” Perry was quoted as saying in the Detroit Free Press. “It’s more inclusive. The Masters is basically a putting contest. The British Open is usually about the weather.

“But this tournament appeals to more aspects of a guys’ games. If that creates a better opportunity for new faces to step up, then that’s great for the game.”

And that’s another reason why I’d like a guy like Kenny Perry to win the PGA Championship.