Weekley's world just got bigger
In this age of golf globetrotting, you have to put Boo Weekley's adventure halfway around the world into perspective.
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How will Boo Weekley's "Happy Gilmore" act work in the Middle East? We'll find out this week.
As recently as two years ago, the man from rural Florida did not even own a passport.
He had never been anywhere outside of the United States, except to Canada, which he admitted "ain't really like leaving."
Boo did find his way to Mexico for a PGA Tour event, but it wasn't until he went to Scotland for his first British Open in the summer of 2007 that he really started to experience a life beyond camouflage and chew.
"Ain't got no sweet tea, ain't got no fried chicken," Boo lamented about a week in the land of haggis and fish 'n chips.
All of which brings us to this week.
Boo is a veritable world traveler now. In addition to two British Opens, he's also been to the World Cup of Golf in China.
And now he's in the Middle East.
Yep, Boo is doing Qatar.
"All I know is when I get on that airplane I want a raft under me so if it does decide to go in some water, I want to be able to have a fighting chance to get home," Weekley said last month. "That's all I know. I didn't know I was going to go over there to Dubai to play golf."
Yes, at first, Boo thought he was playing next week's Dubai Championship, before it was learned it's actually Qatar.
"No, it ain't Dubai," he said, before agreeing that it was Qatar by answering, "However you say that."
The tournament is the Commercialbank Qatar Masters, the second of three tournaments that make up the European Tour's Middle East swing. The tournament is played at Doha Golf Club and has attracted a strong field that includes five of the top-10 ranked players in the world, including No. 2 Sergio Garcia. Ernie Els and defending champion Adam Scott are also playing.
For Els, who travels by private jet and has made a career of jet-setting around the world, the hike from Honolulu to Qatar is probably second nature. Same for Adam Scott, who also played in Hawaii.
But it had to be some journey for Weekley, who hails from the town of Milton, Fla., but lives in nearby Jay, which boasts 650 residents and sits on approximately 1.6 square miles. Qatar, which borders the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia, is a 14-hour time difference from Hawaii.
So why go?
"They kind of have the same concept that we have, our Tour Championship and the chase for the FedEx Cup," Weekley said, referring to the European Tour's new Race To Dubai, which will conclude with a $10 million tournament and a $10 million bonus pool. "So why not put yourself in the place where you've got the opportunity of trying both of them? If you don't succeed in one, at least you might have the opportunity to succeed in the other.
"It's there for us to try, so why not try. That's the reason I'm going to try that out a little bit and play a little bit on the European Tour.
"Mostly for me it's going to be to try to get my world ranking down. I take such a long time off in the winter, I don't play. When the Tour Championship was over, I think I was 32nd in the world ranking and now I'm like 47th."
Weekley's ranking did drop after the Tour Championship, and he is currently 45th after his tie for ninth at the Sony Open. But he is eligible for all four of this year's major championships, as well as the three World Golf Championship events -- all of which count on the European Tour.
By playing this week, he would need to add just three more European Tour events -- and he plans to play the Scottish Open the week prior to the British Open -- to be eligible for the season-ending Dubai Championship.
To say the least, Boo has traveled a long way, both literally and figuratively, in the past two years.
"As a golfer, I really found out that I can compete at any level that I want to be at," said Weekley, whose two victories have come at the Verizon Heritage. "I just got to get my mind right to get out there and do it. I played probably the best golf I ever played in my life at the Ryder Cup. I saw more shots, where I'm sitting there taking a practice swing and can actually see it and feel it in my swing with what I was trying to do with that golf ball.
"If I could ever find my way of getting back to there, I could probably win 10 times a year like Tiger."
The Ryder Cup was yet another example that Boo is more than a cartoon character. His skills were highlighted in ways that stats don't always show. Weekley ended the season 25th on the PGA Tour money list after posting five top-10 finishes and winning more than $2.3 million.
He was also 22nd on the tour in greens in regulation and he ranked 19th in ball striking, a stat that combines total driving and greens in regulation.
"He's a breath of fresh air and we love having him out here," Tiger Woods said of Weekley. "Just listening to him talk is enough for me with that accent. … But the guy is one of the best ball-strikers out here. He hits it solid every day."
How he'll fare in Qatar is another matter.
"I think he'll do brilliant," said Paul Casey, who is coming off a win Sunday in Abu Dhabi. "His golf will suit the place. He drives it so well, so straight and so long. He could do very well.
"As far as Boo in Qatar. … I have no idea. He's such a nice guy, he's inquisitive. And he's smart. He knows what's going on. I think he'll do just fine."
A LOOK AT THIS WEEK'S PGA TOUR VENUES
The Bob Hope Chrysler Classic is unique in several ways. It is the only five-day tournament on the PGA Tour and it is the only event that is played on four courses. And, of course, it is one of only two events -- Justin Timberlake's in Las Vegas being the other -- that has a celebrity host. This is the 50th anniversary of the tournament, and Arnold Palmer -- who won the first tournament in 1960 -- is the host.And with the 2009 event came another change in venues. The Classic Club Country Club -- ironically designed by Palmer -- has been dropped as the host course. Having to play four different courses over four days presents its share of challenges. Not only are the pros paired with a different amateur group each day, but they must quickly get familiar with the venues -- for which there is a scant amount of time.
Typically, players come to the desert to make birdies. Because of the amateur format, the courses are typically not set up very difficult and are usually in impeccable condition. That means low scoring.
Bermuda Dunes (par 72, 7,017 yards) has been part of the tournament 48 times, skipping last year only.
SilverRock Resort (par 72, 7,578) is part of the rotation for the second time and will be one of the longest courses on the PGA Tour this year.
The Nicklaus Private at PGA West (Par 72, 6,951) is new to the tournament this year and will present a challenge simply because of its unfamiliarity.
And the Palmer Private at PGA West (Par 72, 6,950 yards) will serve as the host course. This will be the 20th time the course will be used for the tournament.
Players will compete beginning Wednesday over each of the four courses through Saturday, when a cut will be made to the low 70 and ties for Sunday's round, to be played on the Palmer Private.
Bob Harig covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at BobHarig@gmail.com.
BIRDIES AND BOGEYS
Birdies:
1. Zach Johnson -- Before last October, the 2007 Masters champion had a single top-10 for the season. He then won the Valero Texas Open and his victory Sunday at the Sony Open gave him five top-10s in his past seven starts.
1. Charles Howell III -- He wasn't going to win, but a birdie at the final hole Sunday would have made things interesting after coming off birdies at the 16th and 17th holes. Instead he made a sloppy bogey after running his birdie putt too far past the hole. That relegated him to fourth.
2. Chad Campbell -- A long flight to Hawaii was wasted because Campbell forgot to enter the tournament.
3. Sony/PGA Tour -- Just as the final nine of the tournament was getting very interesting, so, too, was the AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh. It's tough going up against the NFL, especially the conference championship games. Why not consider a Saturday finish?
A MUCH NEEDED VICTORY
Paul Casey now has nine victories on the European Tour after his win in Abu Dhabi. And it could not have come soon enough. Last month at the Chevron World Challenge, Casey, 31, was lamenting the fact he had put so much effort into the major championships, he perhaps wasn't putting enough effort into winning, period.
"I had three top-15 finishes or something in majors,'' said Casey, who lives in Arizona. "That stuff's all positive. But no wins is disappointing. It's been almost two years. That is my first priority, getting back in the winner's circle. And it doesn't matter where it is.'' It turned out to be in the same place he got his last victory, in 2007. Now Casey needs a PGA Tour victory, something he has yet to accomplish.
NOTABLES
• Arnold Palmer is taking over the role of tournament host for this year's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, the 50th anniversary of the tournament -- which didn't take Hope's name until 1965. Palmer won the tournament five times, including the inaugural event in 1960 and what would be his final PGA Tour title in 1973.
• Hard to believe, given everything he has done, that Palmer has appeared in just one movie. He played himself in a short scene in the 1963 film "Call Me Bwama,'' which was set in Africa, was starring Hope and was shot in London. • Zach Johnson is the only player to have top 10s at both of the first two tournaments of the year. In addition to his victory at the Sony, he was sixth at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. • If it is true that Colin Montgomerie will be the next European Ryder Cup captain, he has several supporters, including three-time major winner Padraig Harrington -- although the Irishman figured that Monty, 45, wanted to take one more crack at making the team. "I'd be all for Monty taking the captaincy,'' Harrington said. "I think we need to put our absolute best foot forward at the time and I believe he is the man for the job. I'm a little bit surprised that he's prepared to give up his chance of making the team and that really is taking a lot of commitment from him.'' • The Hope can't get a break. Anthony Kim -- who grew up in La Quinta, Calif., and was the tournament's only top-10 ranked player in the world -- withdrew Tuesday due to discomfort in his left shoulder.
BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC PICKS
Horse for the Course(s): Scott Verplank has played the tournament every year since 2000 and has five top-20 finishes in that period, including a tie for second two years ago.
Super Sleeper: Charley Hoffman. His lone tour victory came at the Hope two years ago, and he tied for eighth last year, but he hasn't had a top-10 finish since April.
Winner: Mike Weir. The Canadian's victory at this tournament in 2003 preceded a win at the Masters.
CATCHING UP WITH D.J.
D.J. Trahan parlayed his three-stroke victory at last year's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic into his best season on the PGA Tour -- although success was not immediate. After winning the Hope, Trahan slumped, missing three cuts and not even posting a top-20 finish until after the Masters.
But he tied for fourth at the U.S. Open, tied for eighth at the Bridgestone Invitational and tied for fifth at the BMW Championship. He eventually finished 24th in the FedEx Cup standings and with $2.3 million in earnings for 2008. Trahan took a long break in the offseason but came back and tied for sixth at the Mercedes and was 31st at the Sony heading into this week's title defense.
QUOTABLE
"We are no further forward with the selection process than we were when we left the meeting last Tuesday -- I know as much as anyone else. … Was that diplomatic enough?'' -- Colin Montgomerie, when reports surfaced last week that he would be named the 2010 European Ryder Cup captain.