Kenny Perry has not exactly played like the defending Schwab Cup champion early in this Champions Tour season. In five events leading to the Greater Gwinnett Championship, he has but one top-10 finish.
An admittedly slow starter, Perry surprisingly discovered a real spark in the cold and rain of Friday’s first round at TPC Sugarloaf. His 4-under 68 put him in a tie for second, three back of leader Miguel Angel Jimenez.
“Can’t seem to get started for whatever reason,” Perry said.
“I make my hay in the summer and in the fall. I love the heat and humidity. Being from Kentucky, I guess I feel loose, more relaxed (in the heat). I kept telling my caddie (Friday) that my swing kept feeling shorter and shorter. The longer the holes went, I felt like I was just drawing up (into a ball),” he said.
He is about to get very busy, with a schedule that includes both PGA Tour and Champions Tour events that will keep him on the course for nine consecutive weeks. He is going all high-profile, too, with plans to play at the Players Championship and the U.S. Open.
The grand debut streak: If Jimenez holds on to win in his first appearance on the Champions Tour, he would be the second consecutive to win in his debut. Jeff Maggert won at the previous Tour stop in Mississippi. The last time a player won on his first event in back-to-back tournaments was 1980.
Event within the event: One threesome in Saturday's Champions Tour field will stand out for several reasons. None of the three is a Tour player. None is eligible for any part of the $1.8 million purse. Only one is in the over-50 demographic.
You may have heard of them: Former Braves pitchers Tom Glavine and John Smoltz and former Georgia Bulldogs/Chicago Bears kicker Kevin Butler. Scheduled to tee off at around 12:30, the three are part of something called the Novelis Celebrity Challenge, playing for charity in the midst of the competitive golf. Winner gets $5,000, second place $3,000, third place $2,000 — all to charity. A donation in their name will go to the Aflac Center and Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Fans wishing to make a donation can visit GreaterGwinnettChampionship.com/CelebrityChallenge.
Etc.: Two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw turned in the highest card of the day, a 92. … Playing in his first Champions Tour event since taking a break in February because of a rib injury, John Cook shot 82. That was his highest-ever round on the Champions Tour. … David Frost's streak of consecutive holes played without a three-putt ended at 251 with a three-putt bogey on the par-4 15th hole. … The field scoring average for the first round was 73.747, the highest for any round so far on the Champions Tour (with only five events down). … Casualties of Day 1 included Mark Wiebe (congestion) and D.A. Weibring (back), both withdrawing in mid-round.
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