Kenny Perry Rules Golf Right Now

What, you think that headline is ridiculous? You think I'm just blowing smoke because Kenny Perry, a ripe, old 48, won the FBR Open and I am -- like a lot of people do right after events conclude -- expanding upon this storyline more than I normally would just because he won?

Well, I'm not just making this up. The statistics are here to back me up.

Plain and simple, since June of 2008, no golfer has won more events on the PGA Tour than Perry. Zero people. None.

Tiger Woods produced four wins last season in six tournaments, an unprecedented total that makes even the top golfers shake their head at His Kneelessness, but that was then and Perry is now.

Look at the numbers. Since June 1, Perry has won the Memorial, the Buick Open, the John Deere Classic and now the FBR Open. On top of that, Perry went 2-1-1 in the Ryder Cup in his home state, something Perry said last week was "the pinnacle of my career. I mean, it was the ultimate. The Ryder Cup was the greatest thing I've ever experience in my life, period."

After last Friday's 63, I wondered if Perry was playing with a little less pressure than a year ago with all the Ryder Cup hope building behind him. That was when Perry dropped the bombshell that he is basically playing for his father, hoping that good golf with keep his 84-year-old dad alive.

I have heard things about Kenny's game that always interested me because, up until 2003, he was a relative nobody. He had won four tournaments, but only one since 1995. All I knew was that he was the golfer with the upright swing that created a big, high hook, and he has hung around on the tour for more than 20 years.

Yet since '03, Perry has racked up nine PGA Tour victories, fourth to only Woods (31), Vijay Singh (23) and Phil Mickelson (13). Thinking about all the talent that is out there (with Sergio Garcia, Jim Furyk, Adam Scott to name a few), it is pretty crazy that Kenny has been so solid yet so quiet about it.

If the man wins a major championship in the next year (he confirmed this week that he would play all four), he might just be good enough for the Hall of Fame. Not bad for the reigning Kentuckian of the Year.