Kenny Perry Will Unfortunately Be Remembered Most For The 2009 Masters

After a two year lull, the 2009 Masters gave us the excitement that we had been so desperately missing.

The birdies were out there for the taking and for the first time in several years, Augusta National was playing as it did in the good old days, with miraculous Sunday afternoon charges and deafening roars radiating throughout the back-nine.

We finally got a legitimate Tiger vs. Phil showdown and to say that it did not disappoint would be a severe understatement. 

We got a conclusion that offered a rare combination of extreme excitement and horrific heartbreak.

However, although it’s unfortunate, the 2009 Masters will be remembered almost solely for Kenny Perry’s Sunday evening collapse.

When we think back to the 1987 and 1996 Masters, we think of just one man. Greg Norman.

Norman has, of course, never won a green jacket and even the most avid golf fans might actually have to browse the Internet just to recall who actually won in '87 and '96. 

In 1987, Norman missed a ten-foot putt to win on the 72nd hole, and then lost in a playoff when Larry Mize chipped in from 45 yards. It was the second straight year that Norman had missed a very makeable putt to win on the 72nd hole.

The final day of the 1996 Masters was one of the toughest days of golf to watch in recent memory.

Norman entered the final round with a six stroke lead over the field, and the local Augusta tailor was likely getting his green jacket prepared for Sunday evening.

But Norman once again astonished us all by going out and shooting a final round 78 and squandering the largest lead in the history of major championship play.

By the way, Nick Faldo was the guy who won the 1996 Masters.

Kenny Perry will now unfortunately face a very similar fate as Norman.

For many years to come, Perry will sadly see his name tossed around alongside Norman’s in any conversation about the biggest heartbreaks in Masters’ history.

Any meltdown is always tough to watch, but Perry’s was particularly difficult due to the fact that it was drawn out over the course of four holes. 

After nearly holing his tee shot on the par-three 16th, Perry went to the 17th tee holding a two-stroke lead with just two to play.

This is the type of situation where the immense pressure of a major championship can do funny things people.

It has happened many times before and will surely happen a lot more in years to come. 

Perry, who is one of the best iron players in the world and who had not recorded a bogey in 22 holes, seemed to completely forget how to hit his short irons down the stretch, and missed four consecutive greens in regulation (the 17th and 18th as well as two greens in the playoff.) 

After bogeying the 17th and 18th, Perry found himself in a three-way tie with Angel Cabrera and Chad Campbell.

The sudden death playoff would begin on the 18th hole and then move over to the 10th.

If Kenny Perry could have walked out to the 18th and 10th greens and chosen the most ideal pin locations imaginable, he would have almost certainly placed them exactly where they were already located.

Both pins were placed to the left side of the green which setup perfectly for Perry’s sweeping draw.

Furthermore, Perry hits the ball so long that he knew he would be attacking each of these pins with just a short-iron in his hand, and being one of the best short iron players in the world, Perry would have to have been considered the clear favorite heading into the sudden death playoff.

Missing both greens in the playoff by a large margin with short-irons comes down to nothing more than a bad case of major championship nerves.

But, what made this occasion even more difficult to watch was that the guy it happened to is one of the nicest men you will find anywhere in the game of golf.    

After miraculously turning around his career last year at the age of 48, Perry has won four times in the past eight months and is, of course, one of the Ryder Cup heroes from last September at Valhalla.  

It is a terrible shame that this incredible run Perry has been on for the past year or so might come to an end with what would have to be the most gut-wrenching defeat of his entire career. 

Hopefully the 2009 Masters will be remembered more for Angel Cabrera’s win than for Perry’s meltdown.  But, as history has shown, that is probably just wishful thinking.