Under The Radar: Perry Pulls into Lead, Not Looking for Superstar Status
by Stephanie Morgan, Columbus Wired Columnist (May 30, 2003)

Yesterday, it seemed like this tournament would belong to the under-thirty set. What a difference a day makes. Today, it is a forty-two-year-old Kenny Perry that shot a 68 today for an impressive two-round 11-under-par lead. This is not unfamiliar territory to Perry. However,last week’s win at The Colonial was overshadowed by Annika Sorenstam’s appearance. Listening to Perry, that was just fine by him.

Perry’s conduct at The Colonial was exemplary last week – as a player, he did not embroil himself in the “should she or shouldn’t she” controversy other players seemed unable to avoid. Rather, Perry was there to play a tournament. While his win may one day become the thing of future trivia games (“Name the golfer that won the The Bank of America Colonial where Annika Soremstam made her appearance”), Perry wouldn’t have it any other way.

“That’s been the story of my life. I come out here, done my deal and I have flown under the radar.” Perry continues, “I have always said I was a good golfer, I was never a superstar. I’m just a simple guy.”

This is not Kenny Perry’s first brush with top honors at The Memorial. In 1991, Perry won The Memorial at a spry thirty – with only a few second-place finishes to his name. To date, he now has five 1st place finishes and 63 top-ten finishes. And a little over Ten Million in career earnings. Not bad for a guy that flies under the radar.

Perry credits his father for his success. “My dad has put a strong will in me to want to win, no matter if it’s a golf tournament, cards, checkers…He always said, you’re just as good as they are. He still says it to this day, you just got to believe it.” Up until two years ago, Perry’s father was a fixture on the courses, walking with him along each course. At 79, Perry’s father can’t do the walk anymore. However, he still watches his son on television and will call him tonight to go over today’s performance.

Flying under the radar does have its downside. If he’s not being mistaken for Craig Parry, Chris Perry, Gaylord Perry or Jim Parry due to the similar last name, he’s being told he looks like J.L. Lewis. This often leads to folks shouting “Go Bucks!” when they assume he’s Chris Perry. Oftentimes, he’s asked “Jim, how’s your dad doing?” According to Kenny, “that’s kind of funny what we got running right now.”

For some golfers, this life of mistaken identity and relative anonymity would take half the fun out of being a professional golfer. However, when you ask Kenny Perry if he’d be happy with this forever, he’s quick to answer, “I don’t have to be a superstar out there. People that follow golf know what I have done.”