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Thursday, May 8, 2008
Perks returns to scene of triumph
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — No, Tiger Woods would not be here, a dreary fact re-confirmed by the local paper. But Craig Perks would be, and in fact, was on the grounds for another Players Championship. And you say, “Craig who?”
Well, for openers, Craig Perks has won as many Players Championships as Tiger Woods. One each. One after the other, Woods won in 2001, Perks followed in 2002, as unlikely a champion as has ever been crowned in the upper echelon of the PGA Tour. It had been a blustery weekend at Ponte Vedra Beach, postponement after postponement until Sunday opened upon the Stadium Course bright and cheery. Craig Perks was one stroke off the lead. Woods had receded into the background and would finish 14th. There was congestion atop the leaderboard until Perks turned on his finishing game, totally out of character, setting up a reaction that ran through the gallery like an electrical shock. Who was this strange man with the strange name?
Perks had arrived in this country from Palmerston North, in New Zealand, armed with a golf scholarship at University of Oklahoma and twice made the All-America team, once as a Sooner, then later at Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette. Then came several groveling years through the shadows of the mini-tours, then the Nationwide and eventually, graduation to the PGA Tour. His world rank was No. 203 when he arrived at Ponte Vedra that spring, but by Sunday he was only one stroke out of the lead.
Arriving at the 16th green, he chipped in for eagle, on the par-3 17th, the famous island hole, he sank a 15-foot putt for birdie, and on the 18th, completed his magical finish chipping in for par while Stephen Ames, playing beside him, looked on aghast. No moreso, let it be said, than most all of the thousands of spectators on the course that day. Perks’ world ranking quickly leaped from 203 to 64, and the horizon had opened before him. “No one was more shocked than I was,” he said. “I was just trying to do the best I could, and it turned out I won.”
It might rightly be said that in all PGA Tour history, there had been no more stunning upset winner since Sam Parks, a club pro, won the U.S. Open in 1935 with a score 11 over par. Backing in, you might say. No backing in for Perks. He shot his way through what some call the most intimidating finishing stretch in tour golf and won The Players by two strokes over Ames. Sadly, he would never win again. His tour ranking dropped like a rock in water. In 2006, he collected his last check at New Orleans. “It wasn’t much,” he said. “I finished dead last.”
Last winter he came to grips with his state of affairs. Where had it all gone? “I’d tried to play like a champion instead of being what I had been, just Craig Perks, a good player,” he said. “I was 41 years old, and it wasn’t easy, walking away after two years of doing the best I could and failing. I had played poorly for too long.” But he did. At the Children’s Miracle tournament in Florida, he went into retirement. It just had a better sound than “quitting.” This week Craig Perks has returned to the scene of his triumph, tall, still lean, and able to light up the premises with that corn-on-the-cob smile. He was not on a sentimental journey, more a business trip. He is setting up shop at the club where he once worked behind the counter, La Triomphe, in a suburb of Lafayette. He’s a teacher now, and his credential at The Players is attracting clients.
“I’m setting up a twenty-first century golf fitness center, more than just teaching golf, but teaching fitness golf,” he said. “We’ll be open for indoor or outdoor weather.”
And it might be said, that on the side, there will be some reminiscing about the Sunday he won The Players Championship. Once in a lifetime, or at least, since Sam Parks.
