Mourning Perrys collapse at the Masters

Doug Halberstadt, Sports Columnis

As I sit and write this, a little more than three hours have passed since Angel Cabrera outplayed Kenny Perry on the second hole of their playoff at the Masters. Im still bummed. I was really pulling for Perry. Nothing against Cabrera, mind you, I just really wanted Perry to win.

Heres why I became such a Perry fan this weekend. He has played in the Rockford Pro-Am the last several years. He seems to be a genuinely good guy. He had to overcome a neck injury and alter his swing to be able to play the game. Besides all of that, he and I are the same age. We also have a couple of other things in common: I heard him admit he rarely watches what he eats, and he doesnt work out as often as he should. I bonded with this guy.

I thought for sure he had the green jacket locked up when he almost made a hole-in-one on hole No. 16. His tee shot on the par three rolled to within a foot of the cup for what amounted to a give-me birdie putt. That put him up by two strokes with only two holes remaining in the 288-hole tournament. I was already celebrating his victory for him.

What happened after that was purely bad golf karma. He relinquished his (what I thought at the time was insurmountable) two-stroke lead by making bogeys on holes 17 and 18. My heart immediately sank. I sensed the wheels were falling off the Perrymobile. It hurt, and it still does.

He was forced into a three-way playoff with Cabrera and Chad Campbell. The trio teed off on No. 18 for the fifth time in the tournament. Perry and Cabrera made their par putts. Campbell missed his, and was finished.

Perry and Cabrera then headed to hole No. 10 for the second playoff hole. I cant talk about it anymore. You know by now Cabrera won.

Ill probably be in Masters mourning all this week. Just imagine how Perry must feel.

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

from the April 15-21, 2009, issue