Golf: Hard times remembered as Perks savours glory

DAVID LEGGATT talks to the man of the moment about his big day out - and the future.

Craig Perks has a problem this week, but it's all in his head.

New Zealand golf's man of the moment flies from his home in Lafayette, Louisiana, to tee up at the Texas Open in Houston. He will arrive with his head still humming from the emotionally draining victory at The Players Championship at the Sawgrass course at Ponte Vedra, south of Jackonsville, Florida, on Monday.

In the space of a day, he has gone from a battling journeyman professional to the player the golf world is talking about after his thrilling win in the unofficial fifth major.

He is US$1,080,000 ($2,472,000) richer, has his major tournament plans securely in place for the next few years, can pick and choose when and where to play, and will get to spend more time with his young family, Lafayette-born wife Maureen, whom he married in 1991, and children Meghan, 5, and Nigel, 3.

So what's the problem?

"I've got to get my head down at Houston," Perks told the Herald yesterday. "That's going to be the hardest thing to do in the next week, to concentrate and not let my head wander."

To understand the significance of that you need to appreciate that Perks is one of the PGA Tour's scrappers. Not a fancy dan, hot one week, average and disinterested the next. Perks takes pride in the fact he puts everything into every shot. So while he had committed before last weekend to playing in a routine Tour event in Houston, he does not want to go there and take a tumble.

And he acknowledged yesterday that keeping his mind on the job will be tricky.

"What I did was an unbelievable accomplishment. If I do let my mind wander, I'll try to do it walking the fairway or on the practice tees."

Life has changed in so many ways for the 35-year-old from Palmerston North, who by way of Oklahoma and Southwest Louisiana Universities, now sits second on the PGA Tour money list behind only Tiger Woods.

He has four telephone lines, two at home and two on his mobile. None was silent long yesterday as he spent seven solid hours answering calls from around the globe - "I can now see what Tiger's gone through day in, day out" - one of the most important coming from the director at the Augusta National confirming his entry as the final player in the Masters field in a fortnight.

It will be Perks' first major, but he now has the luxury of knowing he'll line up in the next three Masters, the next four British Opens, as well as having the next five years on the PGA Tour without the stress of having to make the top 125 on the money list to keep his card.

There was a moment just after Perks had chipped in at the 18th to clinch the championship when he pulled his cap down over his face, alone with his thoughts. What exactly was going through his mind?

"It was a culmination of all the emotions of the day, knowing I had achieved the goal I set out to achieve years ago.

"I was reflecting on the difficult times I'd gone through, the sacrifices I'd made."

Monday was payday, in more ways than one, for all the years of battling away on the lower-tier Hooters and buy.com tours, of scrimping and saving to make a living, of driving through the night, golf clubs in the boot, to get to Monday qualifying three states away.

Those experiences gave him the tenacity to stick at it, even though three years ago it looked as if the money had dried up and it was time to check out.

"I played 20 events or so and I made only about six cuts and about US$10,000, and spent more than I had. I was done."

At that point, the generosity of his friends kept him going, the tide turned, good results followed and the wolf was kept from the door. When Perks says he was more nervous trying to fight through the PGA Tour qualifying school than he was on Monday, it was those tough times which shaped the attitude he showed going down the final stretch at Sawgrass.

"It was a brutal day. The course was the most difficult I've played. You were going to have ups and downs, bad shots, bad holes.

"But I was proud of myself that I never gave up, always knowing that the next hole, the next shot, may be a great one. I've seen guys throw in the towel, but you never, ever know what can happen."

Perks had one big factor in his corner at the start of the last round; he was in the final pair. Some contenders never give the leaderboard a glance in the final round. Not Perks.

'I was looking at the board from hole one. I like to know what is going on ahead of me, and being in the last group I had the luxury of seeing what was happening - and you're aware you've got the most holes left to play."

The other key factor was nobody made a break on the field. Perks admitted that if someone had bolted clear he would have had to risk more. He stayed composed because that did not happen.

"Everyone was struggling. If guys were four or five under and I was two or three over it would have been a lot more stressful."

And what about the old line about the money not being important, it's the glory that counts? Well, yes, up to a point.

Having his name engraved alongside the modern game's greats on a trophy is special.

"Playing with the champions, that's the most satisfying thing. I know we're set up financially for a long time. The money is nice. You know, it's an unbelievable amount for a week's work.

"I struggled for 10 years, so that works out at US$100,000 for each of the next 10 years."

So will the fame, the sudden influx of cash, change the man or his approach to the game?

"Not at all. I want this to be the start. I can afford to have more time off with the family, but I pride myself on giving it my best with every shot.

"I don't want to grind 30 to 32 tournaments a year. I'd like to cut that to about 26 and hopefully that will lead to better play rather than a bigger quantity of events. But my attitude won't change.

"I'll just be giving it my best shot."