Defending champ hopes to perk up struggling season

By EDDIE PELLS
AP Sports Writer

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) The golf world is still waiting for an encore from Craig Perks.

The unknown who made three of the most clutch shots of the entire season to win The Players Championship last year has been nearly invisible since the big victory.

``My wife and I are still saying, ``Is it really true?''' Perks said.

They're not the only ones.

Perks, the only player to earn his first career victory at The Players, begins the defense of his improbable title Thursday against Tiger Woods and 143 others who make up the strongest field in golf.

Perks has struggled since the win, but part of that was by design.

Given a five-year exemption with the victory, Perks almost immediately began retooling his game. He figured it was a no-risk proposition to fix a swing he felt had become ``stagnant,'' despite his victory in what is largely considered golf's fifth major.

``I was sick and tired of being sick and tired,'' he said. ``I didn't want to be one of those players who had one great week and no one ever heard of again.''

A year later, however, nobody really has heard from Perks again.

The check he earned here last year accounted for 66 percent of his 2002 winnings. He finished in the top 10 only twice more in 20-plus events, and after climbing to second on the money list after the victory, he finished 34th.

This year, he has played in eight tournaments and made the cut four times. He has finished no higher than 13th and is currently ranked 87th on the money list not that it matters because of the five-year exemption.

``I think my game is actually in better shape, but the results certainly aren't there,'' he said.

Among those not surprised Perks decided to revamp his game is Scott Hoch, who finished fourth last year and kept a close eye on Perks' winning effort.

``Some of the shots he hit were not the caliber of shots of guys winning big tournaments,'' said Hoch, who was forced to withdraw Thursday morning because of a wrist injury. ``He won, but not with the normal game that wins here.''

Indeed, it was something different.

In the closing round, Perks chipped in for an eagle on No. 16 to take the lead. He snaked home a 28-foot putt on the famous No. 17 island hole for birdie. Following an awful drive, a chip into the fairway and an approach into the deep grass off the 18th green, he chipped in for par. In all, he played one of the toughest three-hole finishes in golf at 3-under, and touched his putter only once.

``We still pinch ourselves, there's no question,'' Perks said.

Although Perks was a shock last year, almost anyone who could top Woods this time would be a decent-sized surprise.

Last week, Tiger won by 11 at Bay Hill despite suffering with food poisoning. He has three victories in four starts this year, after a two-month layoff for knee surgery.

``He's by far the best player that we've ever played against, and by far the best player, in my view, that's ever played the game,'' Colin Montgomerie said. ``You have run out of superlatives to write about, which is a shame.''

The second- and third-ranked players in the world, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson are both absent. Els has a hand injury and Mickelson is back home his wife, Amy, just gave birth to their third child.

Still, this is perennially the strongest field in golf, the tournament with the biggest purse ($6.5 million this year). It's something close to a major, although still not quite there yet.

``It's getting more and more like a major,'' Brad Faxon said. ``I don't think you can just put a label on it as a major.''

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)