What Can We Expect from Kenny Perry in 2009?

Kenny Perry’s consistently stellar play in 2008 was shocking to say the least.  

Perry won three events, had seven top-10 finishes and was fifth on the PGA Tour’s money list with earnings of more than $4.6 million. 

But, in 2008 Kenny Perry was a man on a mission.

Perry undertook and intensive practice regime during the winter and structured his 2008 schedule around a single goal: to give himself the best chance of earning enough Ryder Cup points to secure a spot on Paul Azinger’s American Ryder Cup team.

The 2008 Ryder Cup was played at Valhalla Golf Club, which is located just 90 miles from Perry’s hometown of Franklin, Ky. 

Kenny Perry grew up and has lived his whole life in Franklin. He knows virtually everyone in the town on a first-name basis and built the town’s first and only 18-hole golf course with a combination of his own money and personal loans. 

It had been a dream of Perry’s for some time to represent his country and his hometown of Franklin, Ky., at the 2008 Ryder Cup. 

Perry’s dream fell into place more perfectly than even a Hollywood script writer could have thought up.  

Perry earned a total of 2.5 points for the American side, culminating in a 3-and-2 victory over Henrick Stenson in his Sunday singles match, after which Perry literally walked off into the sunset with his family and what seemed like 1,000 of his closest friends from to celebrate the America's first Ryder Cup victory in nearly a decade.

So what does one do after he’s achieved his ultimate goal? 

Perry is a professional golfer. That’s been his job for the past 26 years and is something he will likely do for many more years as he moves on to the Champions Tour. 

However, one can understand if it is difficult for the 48-year-old to approach the 2009 season with the same level of intensity and motivation he displayed during the 2008 season.

After spending the 2008 season working towards a clearly defined goal, what is there to motivate Perry in 2009 other than a drive to win and earn a large sum of money? 

Let’s not forget that despite being motivated by a career-long goal, Perry displayed just how talented of a golfer he can be when he puts his mind to it.

In 2008, Perry averaged 296 yards off the tee, hit more than 67 percent of greens in regulation and averaged 1.8 putts per green.

Perry also averaged 3.8 birdies per round which ranked third on the PGA Tour. 

One motivating factor for Perry heading into the 2009 season could be a desire to keep up that same extraordinary level of play.

Whether you’re a PGA Tour professional or a weekend hacker, when you're playing well it is like an all-consuming addiction, you simply cannot wait to pick up the club and try it again. 

Earlier this year, Adam Scott cut short a vacation and flew all the way back from Australia to attend the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, because he had found something in his game that he simply could not bear to waste; which he didn’t by beating Ryan Moore in a sudden death playoff to win the event.

After a great Sunday afternoon round, the weekend hacker will sneak out of work early on a Wednesday to get back out on the course and feed that desire to try and repeat that same level of play. 

Everyone likes to win.  Whether that win is moving you closer to an ultimate goal, such as earning enough points to make the Ryder Cup team, or whether it is just the sheer satisfaction of knowing you were better than 150+ other golfers that particular week, it’s a thrill that every golfer constantly strives for.

Kenny Perry provided us with one of many inspirational stories during the 2008 season. 

Prior to the 2008 season, Kenny Perry had spent his career as somewhat of a journeyman; one of those players you wouldn’t recognize if he were hitting balls next to you on your local range, yet he probably earned somewhere in the vicinity of $1 million on the PGA Tour that year.

Although understandably Perry might not approach the 2009 season with the same level motivation seen from him in 2008, his drive might come from the simple desire to continue playing the game of golf at a level better than at any other time during his career.