Golf: Perks' planning shot to pieces

Craig Perks will have to overcome a nightmare lead-up to his first British Open if he is to make his mark at Muirfield in Scotland next week.

New Zealand professional Perks said in Atlanta yesterday that all his Open arrangements had unravelled.

He and his family were booked to fly to Britain and over five days he was to play all of the links courses on the British Open rotation.

But all that had to be cancelled, as did his rental of a house, because of complications with his itinerary and problems with airline bookings which would have cost him thousands to change.

Instead, he and his new caddy will be leaving for England tomorrow and Perks will have time only for the customary practice rounds before the Open.

"It's a little disappointing things have kind of fallen apart because it will be a fresh deal for me over there," Perks said.

He did at least break a series of four missed cuts on the United States PGA Tour by making the cut at the Western Open at Chicago, Illinois, this week, where he finished in a tie for 68th.

He is 22nd on the US PGA Tour money-list and is ranked 82nd in the world.

"I've been playing very poorly. It has been a real struggle and obviously there have been a lot of distractions. When I'm playing good it's good, but when I'm playing bad, I'm very poor."

Only one part of his game is going well at a time.

Perks admitted winning The Players Championship in Florida in March was a huge distraction for him and still the media attention had not let up.

"Winning a big tournament like that will be beneficial in the long run," he said. "But just now it's like I'm a rookie all over again, learning about new courses, playing alongside new people and all the media attention.

"When I get my feet back on the ground I will be a better player because of it."

As the Players Championship winner, there is a greater expectation on him to perform. But since then he has made only three cuts. The other two were the Compaq Classic of New Orleans and the Byron Nelson Classic, both in May.

"I've just got to go out and continue to do what I did for a number of years when I struggled. If I play like I know I can, I will do well," he said.

Although he has never played in Scotland, Perks has always enjoyed links golf in New Zealand, where he is at home on courses such as Paraparaumu Beach.

He has heard Muirfield, at East Lothian, is the fairest of the Open links courses.

Meanwhile, Perks has had a new caddy, Florida man Rodney Erb, for a week and they will be together at Muirfield.

He and his previous caddy Terry Travis parted company recently after two years.

- NZPA