KEY POINTS:
PONTE VEDRE, Florida - New Zealand golfer Craig Perks needs a spectacular change in form soon if he is to stay on the US PGA Tour.
This week marks the final year of a five-year PGA tour exemption Perks earned for his stunning win at the Tour Players' Championship in 2002 when he beat Tiger Woods in the home stretch at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium course at Ponte Vedre.
Perks ended 3-2-4 after chipping in for eagle at the par five 16th, holing a 28-foot birdie putt on the infamous island green 17th and then chipped in from rough behind the green at the last for par.
That victory, still his only win on the tour, has kept Perks on the PGA Tour despite lurching from one disastrous season to another.
Louisiana-based Perks, formerly from Palmerston North, tees up again in what is unofficially golf's "Fifth Major" on Friday (NZ time) in Ponte Vedre where he was one of just three players to win the championship at their first attempt.
The others were Jack Nicklaus (1974) and Hal Sutton (1983).
It's just been nothing but pain and dismay for Perks, now 40, after that.
Since 2002, when he finished 34th on the money list, Perks has plummeted with each successive year -- 145th in 2003, 152nd in 2004, 206th in 2005 and 254th last year.
His US$1.08 million ($1.48 million) prize cheque has been followed by earnings of US$975,169 in the subsequent four seasons.
In the past three seasons, he has started 72 events but made the cut in just 18 and has had only one pay cheque from 18 events entered last year.
After his TPC win, Perks sought improvement and elected to change his golf swing thinking his game was not good enough.
He worked with a number of coaches, including the renowned Butch Harmon, but as much as he tried, Perks couldn't make the changes work for him.
First to go was his confidence. Next to go was his driving, then his short game and finally his putting.
A check of his 2006 statistics highlights Perks' plunge -- a stroke average of 75.46, driving distance of 260.42m, 49.85 per cent greens in regulation and a putting average of 1.774 putts per hole.
Perks is now so far down the list, the current US Tour media guide shows "N/A" (not available) beside each category.
"I've just lost much confidence and it's been like the walls have been coming down on me," Perks has said.
Unless he wins a second Players Championship this week or enjoys a remarkable turnaround in fortune over the remaining six months of the season to retain his playing card, it will be goodbye to the US tour.
- NZPA
