The Champions Tour policy of allowing its players to use carts was the one thing that allowed Perry to even play as he recovered from his bout with COVID-19. It wasn’t until two weeks ago he walked four competitive rounds, which helped him realize he could ditch the cart. Last week’s event in New York showed him he could hold up physically.
History is working against Perry this week. The oldest player to win the Senior Open is Allen Doyle, who did so at 57 years old in 2006. Perry himself hasn’t won since 2018. He’s closing in on his 61st birthday. He has a large classic car collection at home, and ripping down the road in one of he Chevys is probably starting to look more appealing than scaling the undulations at OCC.
“That’s going to be a demand on me, and being at age 60, I can really see my golf game is not nearly as good as it was in 2013,” Perry said. “I’ve got a tough road ahead of me.”
However, you don’t come to Omaha barely recovered from COVID if you’re not a competitor. Certainly, Perry wants to give himself a chance on Sunday.
But he also wants to enjoy the challenge.
“There’s a big difference between 52 (years old) and 60,” Perry said. “With the undulation and the hills out there, it’s going to be a very demanding physical test as well as a mental test.
“You’re going to be fighting the rough, the speed of the greens, hole locations. I mean, this is going to be the total package this week.”
