Kenny Perry Jr?

[Kalen Braley]

Looks like Norman has said no to the PGA Championship. Time for another GCA.com roast or is held to a different standard?!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3508547

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Wouldn't that be 4 weeks in a row? Too much for a 53 year old on his honeymoon.

[Kalen Braley]

Hey Norman's in better shape than most guys on the regular tour.  I'm sure he can withstand the rigors of golf and his other husbandly duties.   

[Phil Benedict]

Norman is semi-retired; Perry is the is the leading active player on the Tour.  There is no comparison.

[Kalen Braley]

A quote from Norman:

"I have elected to decline in favor of adhering to the professional and personal commitments I made prior to the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale,"

That sounds eerily familiar to why Kenny P decided to abstain from going to The Open. 

And Semi-retired or not, I don't see the relevance especially in light of him playing in The Open when he was on his honeymoon of all things.  When you get a chance, you must strike when the iron is hot right? 

Would Jack or any of the other great champions turn down something like this when they were still competitive? Which Norman obviously is after finishing 3rd at the Open.

The overall silence and lack of uproar seems a bit odd....but perhaps the thread is just too young so far.

[Dave_Miller]

Looks like Norman has said no to the PGA Championship. Time for another GCA.com roast or is held to a different standard?!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3508547

Hey Sandman
Wait until you're 53 and see if you will play four days in a row let alone 4 weeks in a row.
Best
Dave

[Will MacEwen]

I thought it was goofy to invite him in the first place.

[Kalen Braley]

Looks like Norman has said no to the PGA Championship. Time for another GCA.com roast or is held to a different standard?!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3508547

Hey Sandman
Wait until you're 53 and see if you will play four days in a row let alone 4 weeks in a row.
Best
Dave

Hey,

As you say, I like fooling around in the bunkers too much to bring my handi down to actually be any good.  So I'll have to take a pass on actually playing in any kind of real tournament! 

For the record, I am in the camp that it doesn't matter.  And I took a similar position with Perry.  I'm just wondering where all the outcry is for Norman, a champion of champions choosing to pass on a major when he is playing well and could be in contention again at the PGA.

Seems a bit of a double standard on this one....and I'm shocked to see that on GCA.com.   

[Kalen Braley]

So Kenny Perry's move that allowed another fellow pro/qualifier to get into the Open wasn't classy, yet Norman's is?

[David_Tepper]

Kalen -

These are two TOTALLY different situations.

DT

[Jim Franklin]

Perry = Active Tour member, playing his best EVER
Norman = semi-retired, had a great week

No comparison. I would love for him to play, but Oakland Hills is a tough place to try and win when you are not playing and practicing all of the time.

[Kalen Braley]

David,

Outside of being semi-retired, which were still debating, I'm not seeing the difference.

Several guys who are semi-retired or worse tee it up at the Masters every year.  And you have guys like Jack who put on a helluva show at age 58 I believe it was?  Why wouldn't a great champion like Norman not want to give it as many goes as possible, especially now that he's gotten a little older?

I can't even count the number of times I read on the Kenny Perry thread that if you have a chance, you gotta go and give it a shot.  Why does this not apply to GN?  Especially in light of him playing well lately and having a chance to add the PGA to his resume?

[Kalen Braley]

No comparison. I would love for him to play, but Oakland Hills is a tough place to try and win when you are not playing and practicing all of the time.

Jim,

Thanks for helping with my case.  I can hardly think of another tournament outside of Carnoustie and the Winged Food Massacre where the course was playing tougher.  Hell being at +10 on Sunday for most of the day meant you had a chance, at least until Padriag's last 3-4 holes.

He's a proven champ, playing a difficult course in the Open and almost pulled it out.  Can't see why he can't do just as well on a brutally tough track on this side of the pond as well.

[Bob_Huntley]

Kalen,

Norman has been out of the competetive arena for a long time, Perry at present is probably the best player out there.

Before Birkdale, Norman had no idea that his performance would elicit an invitation to play in the PGA and obviously had made other commitments.

I for one, had no problem with Perry's choice not to play in the Open. He is a self employed professional and as such, no one will come to his  financial aid if injury hurts his career. He made it clear that his mission was the Ryder Cup and I wish him well. However,  to tie these two in a knot such as yours stretching things.

Bob

[Kalen Braley]

Some beauties that criticize Kenny Perry in that thread.  How are these statement not applicable in this case:

i think he has rocks in his head for skipping any major, however i do respect his right to decide as an independent contractor....

at what point is someone rich enough to not care about the things that the majority of people care the most about....

I believe any exempt golfer who chooses not to compete in one of golf's majors (and especially the Open Championship) deserves criticism.

If I were a professional golfer, I would never dream of skipping the Open

  I think we all know guys like this and how great their excuses may sound.

I can't imagine playing golf as well as anyone in the world and not wanting to compete for one of the majors.

Not playing in The Open Championship is disrespecting what Palmer did in the 60's for the Championship and every other golfer that came before you.

Without the importance ,stregth and history of the majors, golf would never have become the commercial success that has allowed a guy like Perry to become rich. Not that he cares ,but I have lost all respect for him.

If one qualifies for The Open, then one SHOULD play as I think it's very disrespectful.

In my mind, he's shirking challenges and the truly elite athletes in any sport don't do that.

[Kalen Braley]

Kalen,

Norman has been out of the competetive arena for a long time, Perry at present is probably the best player out there.

Before Birkdale, Norman had no idea that his performance would elicit an invitation to play in the PGA and obviously had made other commitments.

I for one, had no problem with Perry's choice not to play in the Open. He is a self employed professional and as such, no one will come to his  financial aid if injury hurts his career. He made it clear that his mission was the Ryder Cup and I wish him well. However,  to tie these two in a knot such as yours stretching things.

Bob

Bob,

I certainly agree with your viewpoint as it concerns Perry playing in The Open.  It may be a small stretch but it seems a bit of a double standard that a great champion like Norman is not being held to at least a similar standard.  See my prior post where I dug up some comments made about Perry that are easily applicable to Norman.

[Richard Choi]

For those of you arguing that it is different because Perry is an active player and Norman is not, I have a different angle for you:

Outside of diehard golf fans, NO ONE has ever heard the name Kenny Perry. It wouldn't make any difference to the tournament to casual fans whether or not he plays a Major Event.

On the other hand, even a casual golf fan has heard of Norman. He is enormously popular still. Having him at an event is definitely a positive for any tournament.

I would say Norman has more responsibility to show up for a major where he qualifies than Kenny Perry for the good of the game. It is hypocracy of worse kind to denigrate Kenny while letting Norman pass.

[mike_beene]

Since mine was one of the quotes used I will respond. First,and most importantly,if the situations don't feel extremely different to you I will never convince you. I give Norman a pass for three reasons: he is basically retired, I don't hold him to quite the same standard(he really left the scene years ago but did respect the majors when he was active),and the PGA does not have nearly the importance of the Open. Fair or not,I expected more from Perry. In fairness, I was disappointed when Nick Price skipped PGA's a few years ago when he was still competitive.

[John Kavanaugh]

Here is what it takes to qualify for the PGA Championship.  Norman only makes it out of the need of a fourth rate major wanting press, ratings and ticket sales..he is above that.  Perry qualified for the Open Championship and determined himself to be above it.  Big difference.

All former PGA Champions.
Winners of the last five U.S. Opens.
Winners of the last five Masters.
Winners of the last five Open Championships.
The last Senior PGA Champion.
The low 15 scorers and ties in the previous PGA Championship.
The 20 low scorers in the last PGA Professional National Championship.
The 70 leaders in official money standings (starting one week prior to the previous year’s PGA Championship and ending two weeks prior to the current year’s PGA Championship).
Members of the most recent United States Ryder Cup Team.
Winners of tournaments co-sponsored or approved by the PGA Tour since the previous PGA Championship (does not include pro-am and team competitions).
The PGA of America reserves the right to invite additional players not included in the categories listed above.
The total field is a maximum of 156 players. Vacancies are filled by the first available player from the list of alternates (those below 70th place in official money standings).


Kalen,

Here is a logic equation...You and Garland are both douches, Norman and Perry are both professional golfers.  Perry is a douche and you are not a professional golfer.  This thread sucks and Norman does not.

[Kalen Braley]

John,

Thanks for the qualifying list. 

I certainly find your comments about Norman being "above" playing in a major very odd.  Are you implicitly suggesting that Arnie, Jack, Gary Player, etc were all "below that" because they continued to play in majors well past thier primes?  I think that is some mighty fine logic right there.

Not sure why you included Garland on the douche bag list, as he hasn't even chimed in on this thread, but I'm sure you have you reasons...

[Mike Sweeney]

I can't even count the number of times I read on the Kenny Perry thread that if you have a chance, you gotta go and give it a shot.  Why does this not apply to GN?  Especially in light of him playing well lately and having a chance to add the PGA to his resume?

1. Kenny Perry did play golf the week of The British Open. He chose to do it in Milwaukee against the second tier of professional golfers. This to me is like North Carolina saying they will pass on the NCAA Tournament to play the NIT Tournament in basketball.

2. Greg Norman is not playing golf that week, at least not competitive golf.

[Bob_Huntley]

John,

 

I certainly find your comments about Norman being "above" playing in a major very odd.  Are you implicitly suggesting that Arnie, Jack, Gary Player, etc were all "below that" because they continued to play in majors well past thier primes?  I think that is some mighty fine logic right there.

Kalen,

You are right,  the players mentioned did play in some majors when past their prime, but I must say I wish they had not.

I like Arnold Palmer and have the greatest respect for him but he milked his major titles for something like thirty years after winning his last one. I think he last won a major in 1964 and a PGA event in 1974. Rather than be admired for soldiering on I thought it embarassing to witness his vast talents being shown as shopworn. I much preferred the Nelson and Hogan exits.

Snead of course was the exception.


Bob

[Kalen Braley]

John,

 

I certainly find your comments about Norman being "above" playing in a major very odd.  Are you implicitly suggesting that Arnie, Jack, Gary Player, etc were all "below that" because they continued to play in majors well past thier primes?  I think that is some mighty fine logic right there.

Kalen,

You are right,  the players mentioned did play in some majors when past their prime, but I must say I wish they had not.

I like Arnold Palmer and have the greatest respect for him but he milked his major titles for something like thirty years after winning his last one. I think he last won a major in 1964 and a PGA event in 1974. Rather than be admired for soldiering on I thought it embarassing to witness his vast talents being shown as shopworn. I much preferred the Nelson and Hogan exits.

Snead of course was the exception.


Bob

Bob,

I would also agree with you on this, perhaps they should have stopped playing sooner.  At the same time, I'm perplexed why some would also think this of Norman.

He keeps himself in great shape, still has a good game with at least 3-4 years left in him of being able to play at a very high level.  To boot he seems to be more at peace with himself and more comfortable in his own skin that I think I've ever seen before.  The way he handled and carried himself in The Open was examplarly and he was very zen like in his approach to the game.  All these are very exceptional things Norman has going for him.

In my opinion, he's not done and he still can compete and be a factor on even the biggest stage.  Who knows with his knew found zest for life, amazing new bride who will push him in a positive way, perhaps he'll catch fire and really crank up the rejuvination machine.  I'm a huge Norman fan and nothing would help cement his legacy more than to give it a few more good years and maybe he can whip up on the youngsters a bit!! 

In the end I started this thread because I'm surprised more don't see this in him and say "Hey Greg, why not play in the PGA?"

[mike_beene]

I am going out on an amateur psychologist limb,but I feel sorry for Norman and I have a feeling he doesn't like people feeling sorry for him.Perhaps that last Masters was really it for him and golf. The guy left it on the field. His Open reminds me of the long retired Byron Nelson winning the French Open while on vacation.Perry reminds me more of Lietsky(whose name is impossible to spell.)

[David_Tepper]

Kalen -

When you say "who knows" what Greg Norman might be capable of, I think the answer to that question is pretty clear.  Greg Norman himself knows how he wants to spend the rest of his life and what his priorities now are. I  think he has the right to do that without being 2nd guessed by this particular peanut gallery.

For the record, I thought a lot of the comments criticizing Kenny Perry's decision to play in Milwaukee instead of the Open were way off base as well.

DT