...whether two holes at Augusta National ultimately will keep Kenny Perry from the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Perry, whose victory in the Travelers Championship on Sunday was the 14th of his career, would have remained a Hall of Fame long shot even had he parred either the 71st or 72nd hole at Augusta and won the Masters in April. But with a major championship and 15 career victories on his record, Perry might have been within four or five wins of Hall of Fame consideration and probably inclusion.
Tom Kite, for instance, had 19 career victories, including a major, and is in the Hall of Fame. Presumably, Davis Love III, with 20 victories and one major, will eventually be inducted.
Perry, 48, has five victories in the last 13 months, and given the state of his game (he's now ranked fourth in the world), there is nothing to suggest that he can't win another four or five tournaments in the next couple of years. He's addressed 20 wins as a goal before, and he was asked about it in the aftermath of his victory on Sunday:
"I'm making people think a little bit. Still, six more wins is a lot of wins. You know, I've won three last year, two this year already. Who knows? If I get hot again, get on a little streak, sneak in two more by the end of the year, it might be very realistic.
"But as I said before, it was a pretty unrealistic goal. I just kind of threw that number out there to see everybody roll their eyes in the back of their head. But it is a goal of mine. I may not ever reach it and if I don't, that's fine. My career's been unbelievable, the things I've been able to accomplish. But that keeps me working each day, keeps me going back to work."
Should he ultimately win 18 to 20 times and none of them in major championships, the bogeys he made at the final two holes at Augusta might prove to be the roadblock keeping him from the World Golf Hall of Fame.
-- John Strege
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