Tommy Armour III
HEY, HAVE YOU NOTICED? Old is the new good on the PGA Tour.
The magic age might just be 48. I mean, 48-year-olds are coming out of the woodwork.
You have your Kenny Perry, winner of two 2008 events and a lock for the U.S. Ryder Cup team to take on the Europeans in Perry’s home state of Kentucky.
And, as I check the AT&T National leaderboard heading into Sunday’s final round, you have another pair of 48-year-olds. One is the leader, Tom Pernice, Jr. The other, two shots back, is Tommy Armour III, who nearly won a couple of weeks ago at the Travelers Championship.
Is somebody spiking these guys’ Smart Balance? Has the throwback, TA III, discovered a new putting stroke or puffing strategy – or both? Is the grumpy Pernice poised to bag his third tour win?
You gotta throw Rocco into the old guy mix, too. The 45-year-old Mediate is hugely popular after standing up to The Man at the U.S. Open. And while on the subject, let’s include another fan favorite, the 44-year-old Paul Goydos, who finished second to Sergio Garcia at The Players Championship.
It makes me wonder if old guys might be a part of the story line at the year’s last two majors and the Ryder Cup. I hope so.
−The Armchair Golfer
I have been noticing the same thing, and I’m glad you posted an article about this. The PGA has been flooded with a lot of new talent over the years, and these young guys are good. But, right now, consistency, and experience is being shown by a lot of the older players. I’m not sure if diet, or exercise has anything to do with it, but I can tell that the mental part of their games are extremely strong. I remember when I was younger, we were playing basketball and we dominated on the court all day. If you won your game you stayed, if you lost, you go. We stayed all day! Until…a car group of 5 older guys pulled up. I will never forget that game! They beat us so bad, it was embarrassing. They were so calm, and they knew how to play. Their game was almost flawless from all the years of playing and watching some of the great teams. They kept making reference to the ‘old Celtics.’ That day was an eye opener to me, and I think we are seeing the same thing with these older golfers. They have had a long time to fine tune their games and to reduce their mistakes. I’m enjoying it and I too am looking forward to the final 2 Majors and the Ryder Cup. It will be fun to watch. Sorry about the long comment.
The fact that these guys in their forties are playing at such a high level is very inspiring. And it adds a dimension that’s missing in many other sports.
You’re right, experience does matter, especially in pro golf. Although that young phenom Kim got past them on Sunday.
Old? Old?! Whippersnapper! I’m 41 and I feel better than I did at 21! And I’m definitely playing better golf. 😉
Perry isn’t surprising to me, but Armour III and Pernice, Jr. do surprise me. It seems like Armour does just well enough every year to keep his card. Then he goes back to partying or something.
I agree, Tom, it’s all relative. When I played recently with my dad in California, he said I was swinging the club better than ever, including when I played high school and community college golf. (And I’ve only been playing about once a week.) That made me feel good. And I’m old enough to be your big brother.
Well hey you’re right – they are good. Damn good.
But why? IS it a failure of the youngsters on tour to take the game to a new level? Bit controversial but durely something worth considering. After all, how much better is Tiger then anyone else.
Maybe not physically or with technique, but maybe the youngsters suffer mentally. There is a lot of pressure in todays game, and a lot of distractions. This is omething the ‘old heads’ don’t really have to deal with as much.
Or maybe the old guys are just brilliant?