Weekley trades hunting fields for links
D.C. Reeves
When asked how he prepared for the 2010 PGA Tour season, enthusiasm boomed from Boo Weekley’s voice.
“I ain’t been doing nothing,” Weekley said proudly. “I’ve been hunting.”
After struggling on tour in 2009, Weekley, a Milton High graduate, decided to set his game aside this winter. Instead of golf spikes and swing coaches, it was camouflage, shotguns and plenty of rest.
Hoping to return refreshed and ready, Weekley will put that regimen —or lack thereof — to the test on Thursday with the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii. He tees off at 11:40 a.m. Pensacola time.
“He had a big year and a half where he was being pulling a bunch of different ways,” said Jimmy Johnston, Weekley’s agent. “This (offseason) was his time to reflect a little bit and figure out what he needed to do. He just wanted to get away from (golf), but last week he told me ‘I’m ready to play. For the first time in a year and a half, I’m ready to get back out there.’”
Thanks to a repeat win at the Verizon Heritage Classic and an unforgettable performance in the Ryder Cup, Weekley became one of the tour’s household names during the 2008 season. With the momentum of fame and two consecutive finishes in the top 25 of the PGA Tour money list, Weekley seemed destined for a huge year in 2009. But his game didn’t follow the script.
Barraged with more attention than ever in 2009, Weekley’s first and only top 10 finish was at this same Sony Open, coming in just his second event of the season. He missed the cut at the Masters in April. Then came the biggest blow, when Weekley tore his labrum during the final round of The Players Championship in May. The injury forced him to withdraw.
He rested and rehabbed the shoulder for a month, but Weekley pressed that injury in the final half of the year, playing 10 times in the final 14 weeks. During the last five events, a stretch that included the FedEx Cup Playoffs, Weekley never finished better than 32nd and shot 74 or higher seven times.
“(The injury) affected me a bunch, mentally more than physically,” Weekley said. “It didn’t hurt bad, it was just aggravating. It wouldn’t bring you to a tear or anything, but I didn’t want to make it any worse than it was.”
Making more than $2.3 million in each of the two previous seasons, Weekley made just $1.1 million in 2009, ranking him 85th on the money list.
Wanting to bounce back for this season, Weekley took some time away from the game, hunting in Texas and Illinois in November and December. Weekley did play in two offseason events, winning the ADT Skills Challenge and placing eighth in the Shark Shootout.
Other than that, it’s been casual rounds at home or nothing at all.
Weekley finally ramped it up again last week, reacquainting with three long days of practice at Sea Island, Ga.
“I’ve just been chilling out, letting my shoulder heal up,” Weekley said. “And I think that has helped a lot.”
Starting Thursday, we’ll see if some much-needed time away from the course improves his game on it.
good luck Boo, stay healthy!