Golf: Perks cracks the big time

By GRAHAM SKELLERN

New Zealand-born Craig Perks' childhood dream of playing on the world's toughest and richest professional golf tour materialised yesterday on his eighth wedding anniversary.

The 32-year-old Perks, who left Palmerston North on a golfing scholarship to Oklahoma University at the age of 18, tied for 35th in the final qualifying school at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami - just enough to earn his playing card for the multi-million-dollar United States PGA Tour next year.

"Craig's still in Miami at the PGA orientation," his wife, Maureen, said from their home in Lafayette, Louisiana. "But making the tour is a good enough anniversary gift for me, even though Craig's not here.

"He's wanted to play the PGA Tour since he was nine. I've mentioned the European, Australasian and Canadian Tours to him but the US is the one he had set his heart on," said the mother of two (Meghan, 3, and Nigel, 14 months).

"Right now he's pretty shocked. When he first posted his score [in the final round] he was tied for 38th and that wasn't making it."

Perks' wait was not made easy by the bogey he made on the 17th hole.

"Now we are looking at next year through rose-coloured glasses and it takes a lot of weight off our shoulders," she said.

After six years of struggle as a touring professional, first on the minor American Hooters Tour and then the Nike Tour, Perks was ready to pack it all in two months ago.

He switched clubs, to Cleveland iron blades, received a putting lesson, and his game turned around.

He was second and fifth in two Nike Tour events (now called Buy.Com), finished in the top 50 on the tour money-list, and then, this week, at his seventh qualifying school, finally made the breakthrough he had long been seeking.

A New Zealand under-21 and Manawatu representative in 1984 and 1985, Perks fired a 1-under 69 at Doral yesterday to finish the nerve-racking, six-round qualifying tournament at 8-under 412, with five other golfers, including Dave Stockton jun.

The tournament was won by Tour regular Blaine McCallister on 19-under. Jack Nicklaus' son Gary was well within the cut-off of the top 35 plus ties with 12 under and tied for 12th.

Perks, who expects to be able to play around 25 big-money events next year, is now the only New Zealander with full playing status on the Tour. Frank Nobilo, Philip Tataurangi and Grant Waite have lost their exempt status.

Frustratingly, Waite, who grew up with Perks in Palmerston North, missed retaining his playing card by two shots after shooting a 1-under 69 in the final round.

He tied for 50th on 414, six under, with 13 other golfers. But as a past winner Waite, like Nobilo, can expect to play at least 10 Tour events next year by taking up sponsors' invitations.

Across the Atlantic in Spain, Blenheim's Elliott Boult and Australian Peter Fowler, who has lived in Auckland for nearly 10 years, were celebrating like Perks after earning their European PGA Tour playing cards for next year.

Fowler, the 1993 New Zealand Open champion, tied for 15th at the European final qualifying tournament with a 2-under 70 in the final round to finish on 432, nine shots behind the winner, Scot Alastair Forsyth.

Boult had a 1-over 73 for a total of 435 and a tie for 27th, well within the cut-off of the top 35 plus ties.

He becomes the fourth Kiwi to contest next year's lucrative European Tour, with Greg Turner, Michael Campbell and Stephen Scahill.