Perry trying to put Masters behind him
You knew this was not going to be easy. Kenny Perry put up a brave front on the Sunday night following his Masters playoff defeat, and gained a legion of fans through his gracious way of handling such a bitter loss.
There were some 600 e-mails, another 100 handwritten letters, including one from former President George W. Bush. Greg Norman, Phil Mickelson and Scott Hoch called, perhaps due to their own experience with such a tough outcome.
Finally on Tuesday morning, after more than a week of sleepless nights and replaying the final shots and holes of the Masters, Perry was able to make it until the alarm went off.
"It's been tough and it's been hard," Perry said Tuesday during a pre-tournament news conference at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. "But the outpouring of fan support was just mind-boggling to me. It really was very uplifting."
Perry, 48, seemingly had both arms in the green jacket after nearly holing his 8-iron approach to the par-3 16th during the final round of the Masters on April 12. That tap-in birdie gave him a 2-shot lead over Angel Cabrera, and after having made just four bogeys in 70 holes, Perry appeared on his way to becoming the oldest major champion.
But he then bogeyed the final two holes at Augusta National to fall into a sudden-death playoff with Cabrera and Chad Campbell. Perry's bogey on the second playoff hole meant Cabrera had his second major championship victory.
"I went from hitting the greatest shot of my life to the poorest shot of my life within 20 minutes," Perry said.
And there was plenty of pondering for Perry, who reached a career-high No. 5 in the world rankings after the runner-up finish.
"We got home about 4 on Monday afternoon and I didn't sleep at all Monday night," said Perry, who lives in Franklin, Ky. "I got up about 5 in the morning and just drove for about three hours, drove in the countryside. It wasn't sorrowful. I just contemplated for three hours. It was very peaceful, very serene, kind of my time to reflect. It was all very positive.
"I thought here I am for four days, hour upon hour, just playing beautiful golf and it all boils down to one little chip shot on the 71st hole. I had it up until the last half hour of the golf tournament. I relived it over and over again. I wouldn't have done it any different. Still the shot to play. I just need to get better at that shot."
Perry is referring to the botched bump-and-run shot he played at Augusta's 17th hole after knocking a 6-iron over the green. On Sunday night, he wondered if he should have hit a pitch shot or a flop shot instead of the tricky bump and run which he hit too hard, sending it across the green and setting up the bogey that would leave him with just a 1-shot advantage.
He also contemplated his first putt on the 13th green, one that he hit poorly, leading to a 3-putt par when a birdie would have been huge.
"I wouldn't consider it choking," Perry said when asked if that is what happened. "I was nervous, yes. But I was enjoying it. I was actually thriving on it more than I have in the past. I haven't beaten myself up."
It is likely no consolation to Perry, but Tiger Woods also bogeyed the 17th and 18th holes during the final round when he was in contention. Those bogeys meant he finished 4 strokes back. Had Woods birdied one of the holes and parred the other, who knows what might have happened.
And Woods also bogeyed those holes in 2005 after his miraculous chip-in birdie at the 16th hole. Those bogeys led to a playoff with Chris DiMarco, which Woods won.
Perry Puts Loss At Augusta In Perspective
"Of course you feel bad for Kenny," Woods said this week at a media day for his AT&T National tournament. "He's 48 years old, and you don't know how many more chances he's going to get. And for Chad, playing as well as he did, and just came down to one putt.
"Kenny Perry's situation is very similar to what Raymond Floyd dealt with at the Masters [a playoff loss to Nick Faldo in 1990 at age 47] ... and didn't know how many more chances he's going to get back there again ... your time is running out. And that's one of the reasons why it hit home so hard to him. And he had a chance to win."
Perry said there were lessons to be learned from his defeat, including the fact that he started thinking about victory.
"Two pars and you win the Masters," he said. "I hadn't been playing like that all week. I was playing conservative aggressive, if there is such a word. And I was playing great golf. Then all of a sudden, when I knew I had to make two pars, I got defensive. All of a sudden, I tried to hang on. That's the worst thing you can do in golf. When you start to hang on, bad things happen in golf."
Perry -- the winner of four PGA Tour events over the past 11 months -- said he didn't pick up a club until last Thursday and that he was "totally out of energy and whipped. The club felt heavy."
He arrived in New Orleans on Monday and had a long practice session, but said he considered skipping the tournament.
"But that wouldn't have been right," Perry said. "I really love coming here. It's a very peaceful place. I think if it would have been a high stress atmosphere, I would have considered not coming. But they've had a lot of pain and heartache here with [Hurricane] Katrina hitting and I just want to support it.
"Thursday is going to be very difficult. But the sooner I get back into it and get over it, the better it's going to be for me. We've got the Players [Championship] coming up, Bethpage [venue for the U.S. Open] coming up, Turnberry [venue for the British Open] and the PGA [Championship] ... I just need to get over it."
Bob Harig covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at BobHarig@gmail.com.
