SB Nation User Blog: Ryan Ballengee

Kenny Perry on The Masters, His Future, and How His Family Helps His Game

Ryan Ballengee — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:16:55 -0000

A couple of days ago, I was able to interview Kenny Perry. We touched on a number of topics like the loss at Augusta, his success in the last two seasons, and what his goals are for the future.

Related: Listen to the audio of this interview by clicking here.

Ryan Ballengee: I wanted to talk to you about using eyeglasses for the first time at the Chevron World Challenge. I myself use Transitions lenses like you're using because I had significant eye problems three years ago that make my eyes sensitive to sunlight. I wanted to know what made you make the move to Transitions and how do you think they will help your game?

Kenny Perry: Well, first off, I've won in glasses before. I've worn glasses since about the third grade. I won the Bob Hope in Ray-Bans, then I had Lasik done twice. I had it done once about ten years ago, then I had an enhancement done. Then I had to wear a Lasik contact lens. I have astigmatism real bad so it's hard in the center and soft on the outside. SO I was having to deal with that all of the time with the contacts and I just got tired of it. So I went with a company that I thought had the experience and the ability to be able to fix my eyes, without having the pain, and the frustration, and the aggravation of contacts.

So I went to Dr. Lambert, we got me spome great Transitions lenses. And my vision was great. I've worn glasses all my life so it's really not that big of an adjustment to have glasses on my face. Most people are used to seeing me without - you know, wearing contacts. I've been playing golf at home with them all the time. When I'm at home, people don't see me, but I wear glasses when I play golf there. I was excited. My vision was good, everything was great. So I'm looking forward to next year.

RB: Speaking of next year, what are your major goals for next year? Obviously you want to make an effort at the Masters, where you came so close this year. You won twice this year. You have five wins in the last two seasons. What comes next for you?

KP: Great question, what does come next? ::Laughter:: You know, it's been a great run. And somehow I'm going to have to refocus. I'm going to have to sit down around Christmas. I'm going to have to set some goals and stick to it. I don't mean to be lazy or lackadaisical or whatever. I need to put something down on paper. I really need to think about it. And then I need to get out there and fire at it again.

You know, I turn fifty next year. You'll see me play on the regular tour most of the time but I'll play a few Champions events. I've got five more years' exemptions on the regular tour, so I can play 'til I'm 55 on the PGA Tour. And, so, what you'll see me doing is playing both tours a bit though I'll primarily focus on the PGA Tour.

I'd still like to get to twenty wins. I've got fourteen right now, so I have to win six more times in the next five years. If I keep up how I was doing the last two years, then that's very doable. So, that's a goal.

Yes, I would love to somehow get a major on my resume. I've come close twice - lost in two playoffs at the PGA and the Masters. So, you know what, if my health stays well and I stay physically fit, then I don't see why I can't accomplish those goals.

RB: There was some mention at the Presidents Cup about you talking about scaling back your schedule next season. Do you still feel that's the way you'll go and how does that affect the number of tournaments that you'll play?

KP: Well, I'm a very competitive person. If I scale back and see that me scaling back is going to cause a fall in my game, then I may change my thinking about that and get back to playing week in, week out like I've always done for the past 24 years. But I don't want to overdo it either. I've got to understand my physical capabilities and what my body will let me do - you know, the energy level. I've got to stay sharp mentally, so it's a great question. How am I going to approach it? How many tournaments am I going to play? I've kind of got my schedule set for what I normally play - my normal events - and if it's going good then we'll stick to it. If I fall off and struggle a little bit, then I might play more tournaments to get me playing sharp.

A lot of times, I need a lot of reps, a lot of rounds, to get me ready mentally and physically to compete each week. It's hard for me to go home for two or three weeks and come back really sharp. When I play well, I usually play two, three, four weeks in a row. And then by the end of that time I'm playing pretty good golf.

I'm just not sure. There are a lot of ways I can approach it. I just don't know. We'll sit and talk about it during the off season.

RB: You obviously had a difficult year personally. And our condolences to you for that. Does that impact your decision about which tournaments you play in at all or does it make you think differently about how you play events as a guy who's on the road 25 weeks per year?

KP: It could. My dad's health is real poor. He just turned 86 so if he starts not feeling well, you may see me spend more time at home. I have three kids and my kids are grown and gone. It's just me and my wife Sandy, and we travel together, so that's another question. We'll just have to see how it comes. My wife's mom just is 80 years old and she's doing very poorly. If she has to start staying home for her, then I might start staying home, too. We're at a stage in life - we've gotten old. Our lives have changed. Things have changed. We'll approach my schedule as it comes.

RB: How has been having your wife out on the road with you all of these years traveling with you? What does it mean to you as a professional golfer but also in your relationship with your wife?

KP: Well, it's great. We got married in '82, so what is that? 27 years now. I tell that I've only known her half the time cause she was at home raising the kids while I was playing golf. It's been great having her out here and to get to experience it and travel. She loves to travel.

We've been having a blast. That's why I think the last two years have been so good for me. Having her with me, we've just had a lot of fun. The pressure of golf is not there like it used to be when I was young, and the kids were young, and financially we were struggling. All of that is doing great. These last few years have just been awesome from a mental standpoint. We've been able to really enjoy all the work we put into it. Like I said, smell the roses along the way. I've laid the groundwork and now we're able to get out there and enjoy what we've done. That's been a big bonus. That's also probably why I've played so well the past couple of years.

RB: A couple of other questions for you - both of them about the majors. First, the British Open. I'm sure you know that the Road Hole will be lengthened some 35 yards for the Open next year. When we talked to Tom Watson about a month ago, he said he was all in favor of the change. How do you feel about that and are you looking forward to St. Andrew's next year?

KP: Yeah, definitely. That's one of my favorite course over there. I love playing there. I think I've played two Opens there. You know, the location is great - the little town there is awesome. It's just so neat - you stay in the Old Course Hotel right on the course. So you can walk right out of your room, onto the course. It's just a neat experience. Links golf is so different. It's so windy. You play golf on the ground. It's so different than America. For one week out of the year, it's such a treat. The fans are great. They really understand golf. It's really great to go over there and be a part of it.

RB: One last question for you. I have to ask it because of what happened at the Masters. Is there any part of you that wishes that the ball that Angel Cabrera hit off of that tree went off in another direction or do you put it on yourself about what happened at Augusta?

KP: ::Chuckling:: You know, I've never wished that on anybody. The loss was actually - I've enjoyed it. When I lost the PGA, it stuck with me for a couple of years. When I lost the Masters, it didn't stick a lot with me because I won not too long after it at the Hartfort - the Travelers. You know, that's golf. I had my chance to win. You know, I was two up with two to play and I just didn't get the job done. I got out of my element, got out of my thinking there - the way I prepared all week. Next thing you know, hitting fairways and greens didn't happen. It's funny. On the last two holes, I got a little nervous and a little ahead of myself. I didn't win.

But I had a lot of cards and letters and people who wrote me. I had probably had a thousand emails and letters. I had a lot of support. That made me feel good that people were paying attention and they were proud of how I handled my post-round interviews. That meant a lot to me.

You know, I came out a winner even though I was a loser.

PGA Tour Tough Guys Lash Out at Tiger, Elin

Ryan Ballengee — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:28:50 -0000

A couple of PGA Tour pros - who most people have never heard of - are now on the record with their reaction to this whole Woods fiasco. (I refuse to call this Tigergate or anything with "gate" on the end of it.)

Both told their opinions to Life & Style Weekly magazine.

First up is The Slowest Golfer on Earth, Ben Crane, who took 3 hours and 19 minutes to play 18 holes by himself earlier this year on Tour.

"This is no surprise to anyone who knows Tiger," Crane tells Life & Style. "He's a phony and a fake and he can't retain that squeaky-clean endorsement deal any longer." Crane also believes Elin may have known about Tiger's other women. "She's no fool," Crane says, adding that perhaps Elin "turned a blind eye because of the money and the kids and the lifestyle he provides."

Yeah, that supposed $300 million divorce clause has her clinging onto Tiger.

Then Charles Warren - the 387th ranked player in the world and who finished at 147 on the '09 money list - gives Elin some marital advice.

"She was very young when Jesper introduced them," Warren tells Life & Style. "She had stars in her eyes and maybe dollar signs too. But no, she should not stay with him. What kind of message would that send to her sister and mother and all the women out there? That your husband can be a bastard but as long as he makes the deal worthwhile, you'll stay?"

You heard it here first: Charles Warren is going to be taking over for Dr. Drew on his litany of VH1 rehab shows.

[Hat tip to Sports by Brooks]

I Had A Tryst With Tiger Woods And Didn't Even Know It!

Ryan Ballengee — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:27:11 -0000

I Had A Tryst With Tiger Woods And Didn't Even Know It!

The good folks at NiceBallz have quoted me as one of the guys who thought he was the only guy talking about the Tiger fiasco. It's all in good fun.

Will the PGA Tour's International Expansion Spark LPGA-Esque Outrage?

Ryan Ballengee — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:23:40 -0000

In calendar 2009, the PGA Tour - comprising it and the Champions and Nationwide Tours - has announced a pretty significant expansion plan outside of the United States for next season.

On the PGA Tour side, the HSBC Champions event was upgraded to a World Golf Championships event, making it officially co-sanctioned by the Tour. Then, just this week, the PGA Tour announced that it will be co-sanctioning an event in Malaysia with the Asian Tour. The tournament likely was closed as as result of Tim Finchem's 18 day visit to Asia around the time of the HSBC event. The mission for Finchem was to forge partnerships with sponsors and potential host sites so that the PGA Tour might be able to plant a stake there.

The Champions Tour had previously announced an event in '10 in South Korea, making it the senior circuit's first venture to the continent.

Just this week, the Nationwide Tour confirmed what had been reported by Sean Martin of Golfweek - that the Tour would be holding a tournament in Colombia for the '10. In an interview with Waggle Room, Nationwide Tour President Bill Calfee said that this may well be the beginning of a larger expansion in the Americas for his Tour.

It would appear that these events played abroad may well just be the beginning for the Tour. With the increasing global competition from the European and Asian Tours when the FedExCup schedule is dormant, the PGA Tour wants a piece of the action - and rightfully so. The extra coverage boosts the value of their TV package domestically and abroad. Also, it can say that the best in the world are playing in their events for twelve months of the year.

The Tour, though, has yet to receive the same kind of criticism that the LPGA Tour has received for taking much of its 2010 schedule outside of the United States. Their schedule feature 11 events played abroad - nearly half of the schedule. But, it wasn't always that large of a percentage. It was incremental, gradual. And the complaining grew louder when players and fans realized that the foreign events were not one-offs. They were a part of a calculated strategy to grow outside of the USA.

The same is true for the PGA Tour. The game of golf is global now and will only expand with golf's inclusion in the 2016 Olympics. The Tour is going to have to be playing ball in the backyards of the European and Asian Tours. Don't be surprised to see the European Tour try to hold an event in Canada or Mexico just to return the favor. It would not be all that shocking for the PGA Tour to try to court Ben Sellenger and his Australasian PGA Tour or his OneAsia concept. Those events would be an asset for the Nationwide or PGA Tours.

So where's the foul cry for the beginning of expansion on the men's side of the game? Is it because the men's game has far more domestic recognition that the sport really is a global phenomenon? There are plenty of diverse, foreign names on PGA Tour leaderboards. The same is true for the LPGA Tour.

The difference? Americans and Euros still dominate the men's game. Taking their excellence to foreign countries is seen as no big deal. In the women's game, great Asian players are coming here and winning. It creates a sense of resentment in fans that is only amplified when the US-based LPGA Tour rewards that strength by hosting tournaments where not only the Asian players hail, but are much bigger cultural celebrities.

It's a piece of hypocrisy that really should be examined. Neither tour deserves criticism for making business decisions. Yes, those decisions seriously impact American-born players. But they also impact players from every other country, too.

AUDIO: My Interview With Kenny Perry

Ryan Ballengee — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:22:33 -0000

Yesterday, I had the chance to interview Kenny Perry. We talk about a host of subjects, including him using Transitions glasses, his near miss at the Masters, his plans for the future, and how his wife traveling with him has helped his game.

(It'll be cleaned up more tonight, but you get the idea.)

You can listen to the MP3 using the media player below, or download the MP3. It'll also be up as part of our final podcast for the year later this evening. A transcript of the interview is coming, too.

Kenny Perry Interview 12/8/09

Hjorth, Wie, Q-School Grads Vying for Ladies Dubai Title

Ryan Ballengee — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:54:29 -0000

Now the ladies of the European Tour get a turn to finish their season in Dubai. There's a pretty strong field assembled in Dubai for the LET's Dubai Ladies Masters. It and the Irish Open have the largest purse on the LET for an event that is not co-sponsored with the LPGA Tour.

Michelle Wie is in the field, but actually completed exams online while waiting for the tournament to begin. In today's first round, she fired 69 (-3) and is three shots back of Maria Hjorth.

David Cannon/Getty Images

Recent LPGA Tour Q-School grad Julieta Granada is in a tie for second at -4. Fellow grads Iben Tinning and Gwladys Nocera are in at -1.

Christina Kim made the trek and shot even par on day one.

Say Hello to the Waste Management Open

Ryan Ballengee — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:30:56 -0000

We all know that FBR is leaving as title sponsor of the drunken golfest played annually at the TPC Scottsdale. But, we didn't know who is lining up to replace them as title sponsor. Now we do.

It's Waste Management, according to the Golf Channel and Phoenix Business Journal.

There is a press conference today to unveil what is said to be a six year deal.

Waste Management already had a hand in this tournament, instituting a recycling program there with the help of Tour wives and tournament presenter The Thunderbirds. You know, for all of those beer bottles and Solo cups that rain down on players after great shots. Like, say, a hole in one by the best golfer in the world punctuated by raising the roof. (The Tiger that we do know.)

Rick Reilly Needs to Shut It Down Way More Than Tiger Does

Ryan Ballengee — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:46:34 -0000

So, Rick Reilly went on Sportscenter yesterday to talk even more about Tiger's disgressions and mistresses and blah, blah, blah. Great. Reilly - normally an embarrassment of a writer - proved he was also a nuisance on camera as well.

He said on Sportscenter that Tiger needs to "really shut it down," including skipping next year's Masters and US Open. Among other things, he said Tiger should "give some decent interviews" - maybe to ESPN, who is bidding for the post-controversy exclusive interview. (They won't get it after that.)

This whole thing has been a PR disaster for Tiger. From who knew about this to the covering it up to never taking control of this story, this was a Bill Buckner-level botch job.

But why should Tiger not play golf? Sounds like a great idea to skip Augusta - won there four times - and the Open at Pebble - won there by 15 shots a decade ago. I mean, after all, that would prove Tiger is a family man and committed to his marriage. It wouldn't, say, come across as an obvious stunt and impede Tiger from his chase of Nicklaus and history. Especially coming off of that near miss at Hazeltine in the PGA Championship, Tiger can definitely afford to take off half of the majors this year.

Tiger clearly has a lot of work to do on his marriage if he intends to stay with Elin (and, of course, if she intends to stay with him). But skipping golf tournaments and giving interviews has nothing to do with that or restoring his reputation. If anything, winning golf tournaments will restore his reputation in a way that it did for Kobe Bryant. Most people can't even tell you about that girl in Colorado now.

Rick, just shut it down, man. You lack both perspective and insight.

C'Mon, Not Even Tiger Was Drinking His Own Gatorade Flavor

Ryan Ballengee — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:49:45 -0000

There was a big uproar yesterday about the revelation that Gatorade has dropped their Tiger Focus drink in lieu of other "innovations" for 2010. I don't know you innovate a sports drink, but that's neither here nor there.

Apparently, this news was made public in Beverage Digest on November 25. I'm Ryan f'n Ballengee and I'm NOT on Beverage Digest's mailing list?! I get the Radar Online press releases, c'mon!

At the very least, this was really poor timing on Gatorade's part because everyone in jumping to the conclusion that Gatorade has dropped Tiger altogether. For what it's worth, Gatorade Tiger is still featured on their website.

Geoff Shackelford points out that Tiger isn't listed on Gatorade's site of athletes, do you think Tiger wants to be listed with these winners? (Click for full size image.)

What's more is that Tiger wasn't even drinking his own Gatorade flavor. Steph Wei noted that at The Barclays that a Tour player she knew told her that Tiger was drinking a lot of coffee.

Considering that Tiger was on Ambien - a drug to help someone sleep - I'm pretty sure Tiger Focus didn't have nearly enough electrolytes to energize him. That, and the bottle is just creepy.

No wonder it was at 99 cent stores.

But, probably a great reason to drop Tiger Focus is these creepy cartoon commercials where the title character ventured into the Woods of Wisdom.

[download]

That forest has been chopped down faster than loggers can crush the Amazon Rainforest.

The Decider: How You Think the Media is Doing on The Tiger Story

Ryan Ballengee — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:15:10 -0000

As you probably have figured out, I've grown kinda tired of the Tiger Woods story. Ok, I get it. He's a sex addict. He's been taking ambien and vicodin on the order that would make Patrick Kennedy blush. And Elin has had enough of his crap - she's going back to Sweden. Oh, and the Florida State Attorney's office probably put the kabash on a legit subpoena request.

Well, this story also appears to be taking an existential turn toward the media. They're starting to analyze themselves, including Sal Johnson of Golf Observer.

With golf blogs, other non-golf blogs, gossip blogs, golf media, and mainstream media in the mix, tell me who you think is doing a good job in covering this story and who is doing a horrible job. You can be specific to a person or an article, or just name an outlet.

It's up to you, but I want to get a feel for how you the media has been doing on this story.