Craig Perks
Personal information
Full nameCraig William Perks
Born (1967-01-06) 6 January 1967 (age 57)
Palmerston North,
New Zealand
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight200 lb (91 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationality New Zealand
Career
CollegeSouthwestern Louisiana,
Oklahoma
Turned professional1993
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
PGA Tour of Australasia
Nike Tour
Hooters Tour
Professional wins5
Highest ranking61 (12 May 2002)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Other4
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentCUT: 2002, 2003, 2004
PGA ChampionshipT29: 2002
U.S. OpenCUT: 2002
The Open ChampionshipT50: 2002

Craig William Perks (born 6 January 1967) is a professional golfer from New Zealand who won the 2002 Players Championship.

Early life and amateur career

Born and raised in Palmerston North, New Zealand, Perks played college golf in the United States at the University of Oklahoma in Norman and the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Professional career

Perks turned professional in 1993 and played on the second tier Nike Tour for several seasons. He became a member of the PGA Tour after a tie for 35th in the 1999 Qualifying School earned him his tour card for the 2000 season.

At age 35 in 2002, Perks unexpectedly won The Players Championship, one of the most prestigious tournaments on the PGA Tour. In the final pairing, he played the final three holes in only nine shots, three under par, with only one putt. Perks chipped in for eagle, sank a 25-foot (7.5 m) birdie putt on the Island Green, then chipped in for par to win by two strokes. He was even par 72 for the final round, but only had two pars in the last fourteen holes.[2][3][4] Starting the year at 256 in the world rankings, Perks climbed from 203 to 64 with the win,[5][6] and was named the New Zealand Sportsman of the Year for 2002. It granted a five-year exemption on tour, but was his only win in 202 starts.

After making only one cut on the PGA Tour during 2006 and 2007, he announced his retirement in November 2007,[7] and became a commentator on the Golf Channel.

Professional wins (5)

PGA Tour wins (1)

Legend
Players Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 24 Mar 2002 The Players Championship 71-68-69-72=280 −8 2 strokes Trinidad and Tobago Stephen Ames

Hooters Tour wins (4)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 4 Jul 1993 Croatan National Classic 66-67-71-71=275 −13 2 strokes United States Mike Brisky
2 8 Aug 1993 Collins Pro Classic 73-68-67-71=279 −9 1 stroke United States Jeff Barlow
3 18 Sep 1994 Boast Classic 66-69-68=203* −13 3 strokes United States Andy Morse
4 30 Apr 1995 Coca-Cola Classic 64-65-69-62=260 −24 2 strokes United States Dennis Zinkon

*Note: The 1994 Boast Classic was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

Playoff record

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2000 Crown Lager New Zealand Open New Zealand Michael Campbell Lost to eagle on second extra hole

Nike Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1996 Nike Carolina Classic Canada Glen Hnatiuk Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 2002 2003 2004
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship T50 CUT CUT
PGA Championship T29
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
2002 The Players Championship 1 shot deficit −8 (71-68-69-72=280) 2 strokes Trinidad and Tobago Stephen Ames

Results timeline

Tournament 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
The Players Championship 1 T17 CUT CUT CUT CUT
  Win

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 2002
Match Play
Championship 61
Invitational T42
  Did not play

"T" = Tied

Team appearances

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 19 2002 Ending 12 May 2002" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  2. ^ Van Sickle, Gary (1 April 2002). "Pitched battle". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Drama marks Perks' first title run". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. 25 March 2002. p. 2E.
  4. ^ "Players Championship top finishers' scorecards". ESPN. 24 March 2002. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  5. ^ "A million Perks for TPC champ". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (Florida). Associated Press. 25 March 2002. p. 1C.
  6. ^ "2002: Week 12" (PDF). Official World Golf Rankings. 24 March 2002. Retrieved 30 April 2002.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Former Players Championship winner Perks retires". PGA Tour. 25 November 2007. Archived from the original on 27 November 2007.

External links

Awards Preceded byCameron Brown New Zealand's Sportsman of the Year 2002 Succeeded byBen Fouhy
Players Championship champions
Categories